


The Journey

by Lady_Kaie



Series: Darkness Over Eos [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Humor, Other, Sex, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:14:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23552146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Kaie/pseuds/Lady_Kaie
Summary: What happens when the King is gone and life has to go on without him?How do Ignis, Gladio and Prompto spend their ten years without Noctis?  What surprises await them?  Will they finally start to live a little or become slaves to an unending war?(Mostly focuses on Ignis but the others are prominent in the story.)  Does not follow Canon!
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia/Original Female Character(s), Ignis Scientia/Original Female Character(s), Lunafreya Nox Fleuret/Noctis Lucis Caelum, Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Prompto Argentum/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Darkness Over Eos [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1710316
Kudos: 1





	1. Turning Points

**Author's Note:**

> This is a collection of random stories and thoughts over the ten years that Noctis is in the crystal and the other three go on without him. 
> 
> This collection will not follow a specific time line, it will be blurbs of moments in Ignis, Prompto and Gladiolus' lives during the darkness. Noctis and Luna will make visits. AGAIN! This story does not follow the canon of FFXV, though some of the elements are there. The events leading to the Darkness are all the same.
> 
> Also, this fic will focus mainly on Ignis (cuz he's my fav.) However the others play a large role.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to FFXV and I do not make any profit off of these stories.

Gladio POV:

(Year 2 of the Darkness)

A shield is an instrument of protection and war. Whether it be the brutal battlegrounds where death is inevitable or the cruel calculating world of men in suits with false smiles and underhanded tricks waiting to come to light, a shield is there through it all. Protecting, watching and waiting…

Waiting for that strike to come and the King to have a need for him.

That is what I was, what I had trained my whole life to be. I bear the marks of my house’s loyalty to the King of Lucis and I wear them, to this day, with pride. But, as time continues without the leader to guide the way, a shield becomes a mere decoration, put into the corner only to collect dust instead of having worth.

The metal that was once vibrant and gleaming beneath a fraction of light instead becomes dull and unimpressive. The feel of the weight in one’s hand is no longer treated like an extension of the body, but now it feels foreign and heavy in the hand. I once had purpose when I was guiding my King to ascend his throne both emotionally and physically and then he was gone.

That was his duty and he left me with none. For what is a shield without his King?

I had to think about this at length for close to a year before I realized that while my King was not with me in this physical plane, he was still demanding my allegiance. To Lucis? Against Niflheim? Or perhaps my goals were to protect the entirety of the planet so that when he returned, the people would be ready.

That I would be ready.

I do not want to become a worthless bauble, stuck in a corner without the hope of use ever again. So I have made it my mission these past two years, forged a path through the dangerous terrain that is Eos, and ensured that the shine of my armor wouldn’t fade.

I used to give that boy such a hard time for dragging his feet when it came to being King and I have found, in these years of darkness, that perhaps he had the right to do so. Putting all of that pressure on his small shoulders, to carry a nation, how was that fair?

Yes it was his duty just as it was mine to protect him but I cannot help but wonder if I had been in his place, what would I have done? The long hours on the road gives me plenty of time to wade through my memories, both good and bad, and the distance from my former comrades have humbled me in that loneliness is, for a lack of a better term, excruciating.

Once upon a time I was surrounded by three men who had similar goals but we weren’t separate entities, we were bound together by the call of our Kingdom. Those similar goals solidified into one large goal that even if we had different paths to follow, they would all lead to one another.

Now that path is bathed in the darkness, even my own is hard to see when I know it’s laying out just in front of me. Waiting as it shouts through the destructive silence that swallows up any and all sound. I cannot hear it nor can I see it and I wonder if I am supposed to wait for divine intervention or choose a new path to walk?

Would it be without my friends? Or would we come together again?

I miss them. It has been hard to not see their faces or laugh with them, mostly at Prompto. I shouldn’t be so cruel. I really do like the kid even if he needs a lot more work. Still, Iggy hasn’t been the same and I’m not sure he ever will be. I know he doesn’t begrudge his sacrifice but the hardship of it has weighed him down, crushing him into a pit of despair he can’t climb out of.

The one who was once so strong for us all is now all alone and I carry enough guilt for that because he never would have left me in such a state. Perhaps that is my path in all of this?

To get the three of us working with one another again so that we can keep the citizens of the planet alive and well, so that when the True King rises, they will be ready to walk into the light.

It doesn’t sound like a bad path if you ask me.

And maybe…. Just maybe…. I’ll find something else along the way.

I’ve heard of more and more people flocking to Lestallum, where a community has started to form out of the survivors. It’s been growing in size for the past few months and everytime Cindy gives me news about how it’s thriving and growing despite the threats all around.

It has been almost two years that I’ve roamed, listlessly around the world, slaying and hunting without a real home. No purpose but to kill, and no home besides the dark night sky above me, I think it’s time things change.

Swinging the car around with a quick jerk of my wrist to the steering wheel, I point the car toward Lestallum. Where I left part of my family and myself behind at the start of this.

What will await me there?

I feel like it will be good things...

*************

Ignis POV

(Year 2/3 of the Darkness)

I’ve grown used to the silence of solitude, far from the reaches of other voices and thoughts. The darkness has captured me in different ways since it fell and I have not met the challenges that came with this curse to the best of my abilities. I daresay that had Noct been able to see me at the start of all of this, he would have been vastly disappointed.

I know I was.

I know, in some ways, I still am.

Here in my room below the hustle and bustle, locked away from the bother that other mortals bring, I’m given a brief pause in my new daily routine to simply be. Gladiolus returned to me though it was with no small amount of enormous regret. My valiant attempt to comfort him throughout the peril of his sentiments toward abandoning me did not go well in my favor. Even if I was the one to send him away.

I couldn’t do it anymore. Be the strong counterpart to three young men hardly older or barely younger than myself. My father had taught me to always stand strong and when I took the position of caring for Noctis at my King’s behest, that was when childhood and petty weakness were tossed aside.

I was required to be the very best I could be. So I worked, slaved over numerous tasks until they were perfected, and then I made them even better. I was a mother, a cook, a cleaner, a mentor, a friend, a companion, and a soldier. These were all of my titles and then they scattered to the wind and I was unable to track them down.

Until now.

The darkness fell well over two years ago, going on three, and no longer do I spend my days and nights in solitude. No, that right has been stolen from me and I owe gratitude to whichever Astral above did it. I’m not sure I ever want to be alone again. Much less if I actually will be granted such a respite from my crazy life that the darkness has brought me.

For I adore this little haven I was welcomed into with open arms from most of the inhabitants of the Orphanage in Lestallum.

With a house of thirty children and six adults, we are a large bunch. Each child, and even the adults, have given me purpose once more. To be that mother, cook, cleaner, mentor, friend, companion and soldier. They ask all of this from me and give so much more in return. For I have their companionship and the fierce love and devotion only children know how to give. The adults of the household have banded together, and despite only knowing one another for a short span of time, we are inseparable. I am blessed in a time I imagined nothing would make me content.

But I am. And there is even a new role for me to attempt. One that I have never been successful at despite a few miserable tries, though something is shouting at me this time will be different.

I’m a simple man, who believes in duty and honor and I strive to achieve them in all ways that I possibly can. However, as a simple man, I am prone to failure just like others, as distasteful as that is for me to admit. No one has ever truly been my strength or perhaps I never allowed anyone to try?

Not anymore. She challenges me. She demands to see all of me though she hides herself away behind fears and masks that I am certain I can break down. It has been six months since coming to the Orphanage in Lestallum. Six months since the leader of the house, Meryda Strigan, eldest of the three sisters, threw herself into my arms in a show of immense appreciation for finding her child who had been lost.

That embrace had been more real and substantial than any woman had ever given me. Before that moment I was not sure I had any real interest in being with a woman, not because I don’t appreciate physical intimacy or that I’m gay, because I’m not, I just…

Well… I never had time.

There were duties and necessary tasks to see to at all times of the day, even when I was home on my own and though I tried for a time to entertain a ‘girlfriend’ it just wasn’t meant to be. Apparently she was competing for my attention, which in hindsight I suppose she was, and eventually she left.

Others came and went just as quickly and before long I sought out the company of women who were more interested in a transaction than a relationship. Still, those moment were also few and far between. After all, I was raising a Prince. Who had time for women or such bothers as tending to needs that seemed more of chore than an enjoyment?

I simply didn’t have the time because I didn’t desire to create it.

This woman makes me want to create the time. She’s a challenge with her high handed ways in my domain, which she has claimed as her own, so we revolve around the other like great beasts fighting for a female. In this case it is two humans battling for the prestige of being the best cook in the household. Of course I have my methods that I believe, and know, are superior, but I have to appreciate her determination to not let me slip beneath her defenses and secure my spot as top chef.

She doesn’t allow me to secure anything in this household and I adore her for such a challenge. There is no pity from her that I am blind, in fact, I think she is rather intrigued with my scars as I have felt the gesture of her hand come painfully close to touching them. No others would dare, but I have imposed myself into her personal space a time or two just to make her tick, but she doesn’t react that in the way I anticipated.

No…

It is as if she has been waiting for my presence to meld with hers and when we are close, she submits beautifully to my proximity. I can feel her desire to be touched, held, perhaps even kissed. I cannot say that I haven’t contemplated what the texture of her soft lips would feel like because it has kept me up on more than one evening after the lights have been turned out around the house.

Or the way she would feel molded against every inch of my body, her own a bit plump though no less strong than a warrior’s, with curves that are abundant and would feel exquisite pressing into me. I’m not sure a woman has ever held me mostly because I haven't asked it of anyone, but Meryda makes me yearn for such contact.

It isn’t the prospect of sex…

Yes, I’m a hot blooded man and have let my mind traipse down that particular avenue, Of course! However, when I think of her close to me, it is more in the way she would feel curled against my chest seeking to give or receive comfort. Her smaller hands tangled with my own, or out and about creating new paths, untold by others, across the markings on my face that convey the price of my sacrifice to King and Country.

Would she dance with me and gently hum a little tune in my ear as I guided her through the movements? I can only imagine what that rich alto would sound like wrapped around the lyrics of a precious love song, that she was singing for me and me alone.

When did I become such an emotional sap? Even I’m not sure, but once I decided that I was not irritated by this woman and how domineering she can be, the thoughts of more went into full bloom. Now, I cherish the fact that she can hold her ground and I hope to see it continue even when we have decided that we can create our own light in this dark world by being together.

I realize that I said when and not if, however if I’m going to be fully honest with myself then I know I will not accept no for an answer. I have decided I want this woman and she will be mine.

And then, I too shall belong to her. I rather like the sound of that…

“Ignis! Time to start supper.” Her voice carries down the staircase and directly into the room I have claimed as my own since moving into the Orphanage several months ago at the end of a crisis that thankfully ended well.

A smirk colors my features as I swing my legs to the floor and push off of the bed to depart back into the warzone that is the kitchen. Yes, I have decided. Six months is enough time for me to know that I want to add the role of ‘boyfriend’, if we shall use such juvenile terms, to my list of credentials.

I hope she is prepared…

I certainly am.

************

Prompto's POV

(Year 7 of the Darkness)

I never thought I’d actually get to a good place in my life… ya know? Where people really accepted me.

I know I know, Noct was like a brother and Ignis and Gladio shared their friendship with me, but it’s hard to hold a candle to a Prince, Shield and Hand of the King (well… Prince at that time… now King of course.) That is whenever he comes back.

I loved our time, the four of us on the road, riding into untold danger only to embark on fantastic adventures that involved way too much fishing and eating. It was fun though, for someone like me who just never felt like they fit even if the others said that I did even if we spent more nights in a tent than comfortable beds, or eating at a camp fire.

Actually, those moments had been some of the best of my life and when I thought for sure we would come out on top… save the world… Noct would get married… those times would end.

And with it my little makeshift family. Afterall, what business was Noct going to have spending time with me when his duties were to his Kingdom and Queen? Ignis would fall into his duties as the Hand of the King and Gladio would of course have to worry about security and all of that fun stuff. What would I have done?

Taken photos around Insomnia? Yeah right, if only. I never asked because I had never wanted to have that discussion. I just didn’t want to break the camaraderie we were all sharing for the first and probably last time in our lives. Looking back on it now, I’m sure Noct would’ve found something for me to do and I would have been grateful, but sometimes I am thankful those days didn’t come to pass.

Not that I had wanted any of the bad things that had happened like Luna dying and Ignis losing his sight, but I can’t help but thank the Astrals I have been given this time in the Darkness. I’ve met people, people who accept me easily and did from the start, and have allowed me to forge my own paths by using my strengths, not the ones everyone thought I needed.

Again, I sound like a real ass and I don’t mean to. I just never thought I’d feel then what I feel now.

Its been seven years of darkness and almost five that we have spent in Lestallum, though when we came back together, it wasn’t Ignis who was in charge and Gladio who was bossing me around. We were equals. I’ve learned to fight, held responsibilities the others wouldn’t have ever allowed Noctis and I to have, and more. We’ve fought, laughed, loved…

My eyes can’t help but drift from the dancing firelight in the hearth that sits in the backyard of our mansion. Ok, its an old mansion that Lestallum uses as an orphanage, but its nice to say I live in a mansion. I know just where to find her, between her sister’s, Meryda and Maery.

The two are practically the spitting image of one another, with eyes as blue as a clear daylit sky and the same lovely round face. Maery is shorter and more stout with a body of curves that don’t quit and dark chocolate brown hair. Meryda is just tall enough that Ignis can put his lips to her forehead with ease, which he does often. She has dark golden blond hair that she usually wears short in the back and angled forward in the front. She is also a curvaceous individual that could squash me like a bug.

I tease, but I adore Meryda and Maery, they have been like two older sisters I never had. Then the gorgeous platinum blond who finally won me over, offered a different kind of companionship I was certain would never come my way.

She’s a slight thing, but people mistake her trim body for weakness when she is a firecracker and has the moves to back it up. What I really love about her, is how she can fight her own battles, but still come to me for comfort when she needs it. She’s also there for me, and fiercely protective which took quite a lot of getting used to. Miva was a woman who came on REALLY strong and its not like I had a lot of luck with the ladies before the darkness.

Needless to say I was a smidge overwhelmed. Thankfully the others helped smooth out my concerns and now I have a wonderful girlfriend and adopted son to boast about. There he is… running around the woman who took him on without a second thought despite our relationship having only started to blossom.

I love all three of those women, and I love what they have done for the three of us in these past few years. Sometimes I wonder where we’d be.

Dead in a ditch? Pushing onward with the fight but still separated and angry? Ignis had a rough go in the beginning, but now as I’m watching him move over to Meryda to pull her up into his arms for a kiss, he looks better than ever.

The man smiles, like all the time! Well, when he’s not battling Meryda for dominance. Either way, Ignis was the last man I ever imagined getting married but I’m pretty sure he’s going to be the first.

Gladio has found his own love interest and even moved in with her, but she runs another type of shelter in Lestallum so she’s not a huge part of our everyday lives. But still, Jilly’s awesome and a perfect match for Gladio. It’s nice to see someone put him in his place every now and then. I hope Noct can see it, wherever he is.

Honestly, I’m not sure how we got so lucky to find the community we did, but I’d like to believe Noctis had his hand in it. Sometimes… when I need him, he visits me in my dreams. It’s hard though, because I miss him more than before, but I have to believe we are all on the right path.

Nights like these, that we spend in front of the fire in the backyard while the kids are all sleeping or busy having slumber parties that don’t involve adults, I miss my friend more than ever.

He’d be happy to see Ignis with someone who makes him smile, and I know for a fact he’d get along with Meryda because she is the only person who has gotten Iggy to back down for any reason. But don’t be fooled, having two moms in the house isn’t always great, especially when they gang up on us all together.

I know he’d like Maery, she’s the loud one of the bunch, much like Gladio, and she’s always ready for an adventure. Those two have become our coveted Dad’s of the orphanage and trust me we need two with Meryda and Ignis.

I really hope he would like Miva. Hell, in the beginning I wasn’t sure what I thought about her because she liked Ignis, but once I got to know her, I was hooked. All of that outward bravado and cocky self assuredness she portrays is a clever armor she wears for the world. I guess she had to growing up in a royal house of Tenebrae with uncles, cousins and sisters to contend with.

When I look into her midnight blue eyes, I can see all of the kindness she holds inside. How insecure she is at times because she has always tried to be more than just “the baby” and find her own light to shine in. I get it, it’s not easy when everyone around you glows without even trying, but I see it in her.

I see that inner light whenever she helps a child who has been hurt, or lets one sneak into her room at night because they had a nightmare. She’s always thinking up activities for the little ones, and despite the fact she says that she’s not made for kids in those quiet moments of anxiety we sometimes share, it's so far from the truth. I know it's really her fear of failure.

“Prompto?” Gladio’s gruff voice calls out, drawing me back to the present moment to look up at a man I can truly call my friend.

“What’s up Gladio?”

“You doing ok? Been quiet tonight?” His eyes are concerned, but warm while he looks at me as if trying to read my mind to find the answer himself.

I am fine. I’m more than fine. I’m happy.

I live in an orphanage full of kids that love their lives and us like we are their real parents, and I have a son that I have vowed to care for. It has been a lot to take on but I wouldn’t let it go for anything. Those children have taught me more about myself than all the years I spent trying to change and grow from the man I was supposed to be.

“I’m good Gladio.” And I am. I hope he can see that. “Should we start cooking? You got the sausages?”

“Sure do. I’ll go get ‘em.” Gladio jumps up to retrieve the platter of prepared meats that we’ll cook over the fire only for Ignis to shout after him, “And bring out the cheese please Gladio… Oh and the…” Ignis sighs and pulls away from the woman in his arms. “I’ll go get the wine.”

Meryda swats him on the butt to get him jump started, which shocks me every time because I never thought to see anyone smack Ignis on his derriere and live to tell the tale. But she does, each time.

The fire is warm on my skin considering the evening has cooled off, but we like to spend as many evenings at the pit as we can. Miva brings my boy over for bedtime, the poor child nearly dead in her arms, and I smile.

My look must be dazed, or that silly goofy mug I make when I’m lost in thought because she stares at me quizically and asks, “What’s wrong?”

I shake my head and kiss her gently. She always yields to me, even when she doesn’t want to. That’s another thing I love about her. For as big and tough as she tries to portray herself, she’s a big softy. “Just happy. I’ll take him to bed.”

She hands him to me and up I go. Well try to.

Meryda and Maery both impart words of sweet dreams and kisses to his forehead, and as Ignis exists with four bottles of wine, he whispers his own hopes for pleasant dreams and gives a kiss into my boys wild hair. Gladio is the final member to say his goodnights before I make it up to my room and the crib in the corner that I haven’t been able to move out of my bedroom. Miva’s going crazy about it, which is why we still have separate rooms. Most nights I’m down a floor in hers anyway, with a monitor of course!

Laying the little one down, I cover him up with the old blanket Noctis used in the Regalia while we were on the road and stroke his hair away from closed eyes.

“Miss you Noct.” I murmur before turning to go but not before casting a final glance at the sleeping boy just to make sure he’s ok.

When I return downstairs, everyone’s ready and it is Meryda who stands up for the first of the toasts.

“To Noctis… Wherever he is, may he have a happy birthday. And stop hugging me in my dreams… It’s driving me nuts!” She yells up at the sky but everyone just laughs. Myself included.

I can see him doing it to bug her.

When it gets to me, there isn’t much left to be said. “To Noctis… Thanks buddy… for getting us here.” I know he’s watching us and i know he’s put these women in our path. The others lift their glasses to the final toast and together we drink.

We eat, we laugh, we even cry a little, but once more…

We’re living. Living in the darkness.

Who could ask for more? I couldn’t.

And then for a split second in time as Gladio is telling a classic story of our time on the road that we’ve all heard a million times, a flicker of black and pale skin catches my attention and I swear I saw him…

And that’s when I hear “No prob Prompto.”

**************

That's the end! Hope I have done them justice. The starting chaps are just intro's to the characters and will be the only parts written in first person. Thanks!


	2. The Journey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look at the girls who fought beside Ignis, Prompto and Gladdio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote the girls POV's from later in the timeline, after the darkness.

At the End:

Maery's POV

The Citadel is a beautiful place, but it still doesn’t feel like home. Each day I walk the halls, gazing at the ancient ornamental carvings doused in gold and chrome, I feel so small and insignificant. It has been a week since daylight touched the world once more and slowly but surely, the survivors have been moving back to the Crown city of Lucis where their King awaits them.

The True King, with the Oracle, and their new representation of the Astrals on this planet. For it is she who now guards the light.

What will this new future bring to the people of Eos now that we are at peace…

Peace. What a hilariously complicated concept. I spent over twenty years in Tenebrae, growing, learning, fighting, working, and pushing to be all that I could be for my family. Maery Strigan, middle child of the Strigan three beneath the elder of the clan Myori Strigan. 

I never had the pressures Meryda took on or had thrown onto her shoulders, but there was still enough to keep me bogged down with the pressures of my family name so that I never really felt free. I’m not sure any of us did, even though we completed our duties as Princess Lunafreya’s Priestesses while she trained and then was the Oracle for the world. 

Our duties were much like Noctis’ own entourage. Meryda was the first in command and saw to all planning, logistics, and safety concerns specifically for the Oracle. Beneath her I focused on planning security for any and all events. Miva was the face of the Oracle who spoke to the press and in Luna’s stead when she was unavailable. Everything went through Meryda.

That had been life, albeit not easy, but we knew what we were doing and we were good at it. Much like a well oiled machine. Then it all broke down. Meryda got married, had a baby, and Miva and I were left with the Oracle and her duties until I had to go help my eldest sister after a very difficult pregnancy. Things just fell apart after that. Niflheim was causing problems, the fall of Insomnia, and then the darkness.

Luna had left Miva behind when she set out on her quest and had Meryda been well, I know she would have forced her way onto that journey at Luna’s side. Not only would I have lost my Queen, but my sister as well.

I thanked the Astrals that she had been too weak to go though I wasn’t a fool to think that we would be able to just hunker down during the long ten years of sunless days and do nothing. The day we met the three soldiers from Lucis, it was all over. That quiet life we had started to build with the orphans that took residence in Lestallum was in vain. I had always known that it would be, but it was nice to play pretend.

Meryda was in charge of the household again, being the mom I swear she was born to be. I was of course the ‘fun’ parent who sometimes had to get serious. And Miva was that cool eccentric aunt who has more talent than she knows what to do with. We really made a go of it on our own for over a year.

Then they came along. Ignis, Gladiolus and Prompto. They just waltzed on in like they belonged in our lives and despite our differences, the similarities were strong enough to bond us together. 

All three men are fathers or about to be, and I have a set of brothers I always thought I would have wanted over sisters. Not that I don’t love my sisters but damn Miva can get on my last nerve. Meryda was the boss, so that was always annoying, but I’ve always tended to prefer the company of men in my friendships. Probably because they let me be the boss and there isn’t that much drama either.

Still, I have the three, now four if you include Noctis, and I wouldn’t give them up. We made a family over the seven years we lived with one another in that big old house in Lestallum. Whether we fought, laughed, ate, loved, or cried, we did it together. As a team.

Now the light has returned and this new chapter of my life is harder to navigate that I anticipated. Perhaps I have lived in a state of perpetual preparation for the carpet to be yanked out from under me? What I do know is that there is peace in the world and I still feel like something will come around the corner and rip it out of my arms.

At night I wake up with a silent shout on my tongue until I’m reminded that everyone is safe and if not sound, then they are close to being there. Sometimes when I can’t sleep I come down to the libraries that Noctis has ordered to be enlarged by a few adjacent rooms so that the shipments from Tenebrae can be preserved in Insomnia.

The remaining Glaives, that were rather numerous during the darkness, have been working on the relocation efforts since the darkness lifted, to ensure that Tenebrae’s ruins weren’t pillaged anymore than they had been. Thankfully most of the palace’s treasures were left intact because most people thought that the Oracle haunted the walls and they didn’t want to disturb her or incite the wrath of the Astrals. Thank the Six for stupid people. Though, knowing what I know now I wouldn’t have been surprised had some of the past Oracles actually been haunting the walls to preserve Eos’ culture.

Either way, I am thankful for the bits and pieces of home that have arrived in the Citadel walls. Being able to surround myself in the history of my country and my people has brought some solace to the unease in my mind but, I suppose the rest will come with time. As it is, there is still so much to do, so I don’t suppose that I need to get comfortable with peace just yet. 

I want to though. I want to stop existing in a state of constant preparedness. When I was younger I would feed off the thrill of the next battle or adventure. Now, I’m weary and ready for more.

For life.

The others learned to live during the darkness, but I never quite got the jist. I want it now though. More than anything.

In a few days time we will embark upon a new chapter in Eos by coming together as a nation, one nation instead of separate countries, and present the new King, Oracle and my sister…

Oh the sacrifices she made to revive what little hope we all had left…

The sacrifices we all made to bring back the light…

I don’t begrudge my sister for what it has cost me and though I should be sad, I’ve found comfort in the silence that now infiltrates my person in a way I hadn’t been able to before. Now there is time for reflection instead of action and that has helped me cope with the changes. 

Most people would think I was insane to want just a modicum of danger, but when you live with it all your life, to not have it anymore makes you feel like something is missing. It’s a shadow, waiting in the wings, waiting to crush the light out of a moment and bring back that unyielding darkness that I became part of for ten long years. The darkness I had prepared for before those ten years.

How many years of light will I have with my family? I hope that they outweight the first thirty years and that soon that shadow shrinks in size so that my own is dominant and able to hide it away behind my strength.

For that to happen, I have to stop living in fear.

I must set out to claim what’s mine and what I want for this life instead of merely existing while others go on around me.

Soon, I will bring my beloved back to me and together we will greet the light hand in hand.

“Maery.” I hear my name being called from somewhere inside the room I have claimed as my own. The patio doors are wide open to allow the pleasant breeze into my chambers while I enjoy the fading sunlight on my skin.

“Yeah…” I call, turning to find Miva smiling and waiting for me.

“It’s time. We need to commune with Meryda now.” To commune, pray, offer thanks, and just regroup our energy as a family. In three days time we will be released from our solitude and rejoin the others, all in their new appointed roles in the Kingdom.

This is it now…

When I go into that room with my sisters, I will have made my pact with all that is Holy and good, and turn from a life that was once separated by duty and who I actually was. 

In that room I will have to reconcile all of those parts of me and make them one.

Give me strength Bahamut. Let my sister be your shining beacon so that I can have a compass for this new journey you are putting me on. 

“Ready.” I inhale the fragrance of flowers growing on the open citadel gardens a few floors below my own and turn to go.

Time to make my image anew.

Maery Nirita Strigan. Daughter of the Elder Strigan, Miyori Strigan. Elder sister of Miva Ombre Strigan. Younger sister to Meryda Bellatora Strigan who is the new Lightbearer of Eos.

I am still a warrior, a lover, a fighter, sister, friend, and even the cool ‘dad’ the kids still need me to be.

But now… I will truly be fearless.

I will walk my path and in my wake I will forge a path for the others to follow when and if the darkness ever comes calling again.

************

Miva's POV

Everyone thinks that because you are the baby of a family, life is instantly easier for you. I can tell you that in my case, that was never true. Prestige was paramount to my mother, who had two daughters before me that were perfection. Meryda was the pulled together leader, while Maery was a warrior in every sense of the word. Together they were the dream team and when I came along, it was like being a third wheel to their already functioning partnership. 

Despite the fact that we are only two and one year apart from eldest to elder sister, it feels like a lifetime. Meryda was always destined to hold the seat as Elder of our clan once our mother handed down the title. This meant she would be in charge of the Strigan House and be expected to produce an heir above her two sisters. She did just that too.

She did everything she was supposed to and I couldn’t stand her for it most days. Maery proved herself as a competent warrior and second in command which left me running around trying to be noticed and not fall under foot. Anytime I was better at them with something I rubbed it in their faces, only to have them try twice as hard and overcome my natural skills.

I spent so much time being jealous, instead of realizing that they were just as miserable as I was. Meryda, the fearless leader, was stuck in a constant rotation of pleasing our mother and then our country and following her duties. I never realized at the time that even her marriage was just a part of her duty even if she said that she had loved Fleur’s father. Part of her definitely did, but I never really saw her start living until Fleur was born…

And then she blossomed beneath Ignis’ instruction. Oh, I was spitting mad for her claim of that man for a good long time, even though my attraction to him was shallow at best. I had spent all of my life ‘losing’ to Meryda and here was this gorgeous man, talented and beyond intelligent, and his interest went straight for my sister almost the minute he moved into the Orphanage. I couldn’t stand it.

I just wanted to come out on top once. Just once!

It was later, when I talked with Meryda after they married that she confided how insecure she had been in the beginning. That she had even tried to get Ignis to try for my attention because she was positive we were better suited. This was another reminder that despite my sister’s outward appearance of confidence and bravado that she played for the masses, deep down she was just as damaged as the rest of us.

Those ten years in the darkness taught me a lot about the sister I had always loved more than my own life, but couldn’t stand due to the poisoning I allowed our mother to feed me. I saw the true leader she was and that true leader didn’t smother me into obedience, she helped me stand on my own. 

I love her desperately, and have gone to great lengths to protect her just as she protected me all of those years. And you want to know the best part? It has brought us closer together.

I love my sisters more than I ever have. Even Maery.

Maery and I were destined to be at each other’s throats just because of our personalities. The two of us clashed and didn’t want a master save for ourselves. There were many pointless fights and shouting matches that overwhelmed our time together but when the darkness came I saw that hardened warrior slide away for a time.

With mother gone, Maery no longer had to bow down to the pressures of our family name and freed herself in one way, but closed herself off in another. She always said she was never lonely and wanted her freedom to live, and I believe that it was true for a time, but toward the end I could read the fear in her eyes. 

That day in the cave as we faced down death I could see all of the moments she had thrown away that we, her sisters, had lived…

I had lived.

I grew up and I learned and I loved hard. I never did anything easy and the darkness wasn’t going to stop that trend I had set for myself. So naturally, when I crashed, hard, under Ignis’ very blunt refusal of my affections I turned my attention elsewhere.

Toward the gorgeously silly, caring, giving, thoughtful blond standing up in front of his King to be honored with a blessing in front of the children he helped raise. His adoptive children are flanking me on either side, and our own first and last bundle of joy is sleeping soundly in my arms while I watch him stand and turn to accept the applause of our small group. 

Lord Argentum. The House of Argentum is now amongst the ranks of The House of Amicitia and The House of Scientia. The three brave soldiers are now more than just servants to the Crown, they are royalty of Eos beneath their King that they never lost hope in.

“There’s Daddy…” I whisper to the gurgling infant in my arms as tears overwhelm my vision.

How did I get here? How did we get all of these children here?

I know how I got here. It was Prompto. He grew from a scared boy into a competent man, who didn’t prove himself through aggression or overbearing intelligence, he used his compassion as a beacon of hope to everyone. Including me.

I had been so wrapped up in all of that anger and one day, with a knowing smile on his handsome face after a fight with my sisters, he denied me. I wanted a fight that day. I wanted to be hurt and battered by his words so that I could lash out and I tried hard to push him there.

Prompto was never that man though. What he did was cried but it was not for him, it was for my pain and the moment that realization hit me, I lost it. I fell into his arms and wept. He just held me while I released everything and it was in that moment he decided that I would be his and he would be mine.

That hard protective shell that had been splintering beneath his kindness was blown to dust and instead of leaving me out in a world that could harm me, he became my shield. He became my everything.

My best friend, my companion, my lover… my heart. He taught me how to grow and be more than a Strigan vying for acceptance.

I grew into Miva and who and what she was. She was a sister to two wonderful women who loved and protected her even when she had turned her hatred on them. She was a mother figure to children who needed her strength and determination. And finally she was a friend, not only to the men who had moved into her life without warning, but also to herself.

I was finally me.

Sitting here in the great statuary of the citadel with depictions of the Astrals carved into the pillars lining the room’s perimeter, I know this next step into the future won’t be a scary one. 

“Hey baby… Look.” Prompto made his way back to me with his new crest pinned directly to his dress jacket. Celebration attire, and also the wedding attire that had been worn for the King’s wedding to the Oracle, Prompto looks gloriously proud. His coat matches the other mens, marking him a true member of the royal court, and now he has an insignia that is all his. Gun powder grey, it bears his guns shaped into an “A” with two wings curved upward, all laid upon the backdrop of a skull. Where the teeth would be on the skull is a banner that reads, Fide Arbitrium, meaning Loyalty by Choice. 

“It’s amazing Prom.” I caress my fingers down the intricately sculpted treasure mounted on his chest and smile with tears in my eyes. As always, he reaches to wipe them away and kisses me tenderly before pressing another to the forehead of his youngest child. 

That’s another thing about Prompto that has always amazed me. His capacity to love. It has no limits.

“Prompto!” Meryda shouts, coming up behind him with Ignis so that they can both hug their friend and then me. “Congratulations sister.” I hear the praise in my sister’s voice and while long ago I would have taken it as condescending, today I know that it is a tone of pride and gratitude.

I smile, accepting a hug from Ignis only to release him so he can wrap himself back around my sister who he has not stopped staring at. I know he is trying to catch up to the past seven years of knowing her with his other senses, but even when he does I don’t think the look in his returned green eyes will ever go away. 

“Is it time for the feast?” The King calls out to the room which erupts in cheers for the idea. “Do I have to eat my vegetables?” 

Instead of one voice, over thirty answer him with a resounding, “Yes.” The only voice that didn’t sound was Ignis’. He just stands and soaks in the hard won fight before turning to lead Meryda into the hallway to make their way toward the great hall that once boasted only two inhabitants at the table. Now it holds close to forty.

Maery calls out to us as we straggle behind but I wave her away with the love of her life and give a nod to Jilly and Gladiolus who are watching us a little worriedly. I know that the tears haven’t stopped but I don't care to hide them anymore.

When it is just Prompto, the baby, and me in the room, I reach up and gently run my fingers through his gelled down hair, pulling it back up into its ritualistic peaks. “That’s better.” I murmur against his lips.

“I love you baby… we made it.” His eyes are filled to the brim with adoration and I can’t help but shake my head at his exuberance.

Silly man. Don’t you realize that you did this? You pulled me along through the darkness when I didn’t know how and because of your tender insistence, I learned how to walk on my own.

I have grown beneath your generosity and love.

Don’t you know that?

“We made it.” I whisper back to him, taking his arm so that he can lead me into this next chapter of our lives.

This time… I’m ready.

***********

Meryda's POV

Time alone is a rarity I have never had the luxury of enjoying. Ever since I was little my life had been dictated for me from who I would spend my days with and what those days would be filled doing. As a child I didn’t argue because I was the eldest of three girls in an upstanding household that served the royal family of Tenebrae since the Oracle was first thought into existence by the Astral’s, I was the example.

I was to follow my mother’s footsteps and honor the line of women who came before me, starting with our ancestor who bore our family name, The Strigan. A great, powerful warrior, she was the first to stand as protector to the Oracle and I was going down that same path. My Princess, Lunafreya, became my friend, confidant and whole world from the time I was six until my early twenties. That’s when she put love in my way, throwing my duties to serve her off the beaten path, and I lost her.

I lost almost everything when the darkness came.

My mother fell, my husband was killed trying to get us to safety, and countless other lives from my home of Tenebrae were destroyed. What I did have were my sisters and a beautiful little girl that I would do anything for. When the darkness came, Fleur, my daughter, became my light.

A single ray of glorious starlight amongst the noir landscape that had pitched itself over Eos and I thought I needed no other. In fact, I was so certain that I had what I needed after such terrible loss, that I was content to move into a home and care for other children who had lived through the same horrific losses. Lestallum had needed an Orphanage and my sister’s and I decided it would be our undertaking.

How was I supposed to find time to grieve when I had litlte ones to run after and care for? The truth was I didn’t, once again, I had purpose and someone to give all my time to so that I wouldn’t have to think of how I failed my family and the Oracle of Tenebrae. Her death crushed me more than the others because I hadn’t been there like I had sworn to be.

That particular hurdle haunted me throughout the years that the sun didn’t rise even though I had the love of a good man and the devotion of a new family that had been created out of necessity. Those children became more than a duty, they became ours. Gladiolus, Prompto, Ignis, Maery, Miva and I put our hearts and souls into the orphans and they put just as much energy into us.

Those were good years. Hard years, but I wouldn’t have traded them for anything now that I can look back on it all. I especially wouldn’t ever give him up.

Ignis Scientia.

The bane and pure joy of my very existence, he drove me to the edges of my insanity in a multitude of ways that both challenged and thrilled me. He became another presence, a beautiful flicker of light in my darkened sky, that I couldn’t push away no matter how hard I tried to protect myself. He was another liability, another potential loss when my heart had already suffered so much. What a fool I was…

Ignis was never meant to be a liability, if anything he was the only one who could have saved me through teaching me how to first, save myself. He tells me now that I gave him too much credit and put a lot of the work I actually accomplished against my fears in his hands. Yet, in my eyes he is nothing short of amazing for his fortitude to better himself despite being blind and to nurture the lives of our future in the children we helped raise. No one asked him to come be a part of the Orphanage, no one asked any of them, but those three men barged right on into our lives and stuck.

It’s not an overly eloquent description, however anything less blunt wouldn’t be as effective to fully impart the impact of those three honorable soldiers made on all of us. 

Now that the light has returned and as I stand staring out at the crown city now turned home to all of Eos that survived the night, I feel grateful that Luna sent me away to ‘live’ a life. I would learn sometime later that she had orchestrated everything in both her life and death. And here I had thought I was the one protecting her.

Dusk is on its way across the crown city as the rays of sunlight begin to caress the horizon with their brilliance. Up above the darkness is coming, and though I feel a stab of fear lacerate my chest each time this moment in the day comes, I just need to look up and see the brilliant noir canvas painted with starlight to know the new age of Eos has come.

“Darling?” My eyelids slide closed to soak in the sound of his smooth voice that even after eight years, still makes my stomach flutter with anticipation of what is coming next from him. Even though I know…

The click of his boots sounds across the outdoor courtyard created on one of the outside floors of the citadel and in no time, he is pressed up against my curves. He’s just tall enough, that his nose rests against the back of my head where he inhales the scent of my hair before deviating down to kiss the juncture of my shoulder and neck. Feather soft, his lips are reverent in their offer of affection and I smile.

There go the butterflies…

“Aren’t you going to return to our chambers soon my Darling? Your son needs his story of the Mighty Bahamut before he can retire to bed.” His voice hardens into a battle worthy tone when he mentions the Astral, before smoothing out to finish his statement.

It’s been a long day of tireless working within the city with the people who have arrived from distant regions. One elegant hand, strong and sure, is against my shoulder blade where it rubs out the knots forming in my back, and the other is latched to my waist in a bid to hold me still to receive this exquisite torture. “Hurts…” I muster out the word but before it can end, a soft moan finishes the sound. 

“Did I get it?” He teases me with a light squeeze to my hip, where he draws me back against his solid body and then I’m looking up and all I can see is green.

Do you know how handsome you are to me precious man? How beautiful, inside and out, you have always been?

Beautiful, haunting orbs the color of glistening moss at the break of dawn watch me with wonder. They’re deep and soothing to the point that each time I look into them, it’s like he is swallowing me whole so that he can tuck me away, inside his soul where I will be safe and sound. Hasn’t he done that though? Perhaps I have this new fetish because I knew this man when the green of his eyes was indiscernible and I knew his intensity through other means.

Now he has one more weapon in his arsenal against me. But how can I mind when he looks at me the way I never needed him to. He conveyed everything through touch, proximity, and words because a look failed him, but I had never needed it to feel the overwhelming potency of his love. I still don’t need it, but I am honored to have it.

“What is it Darling?” He breaks the silence with his rich accent and yet again, another moment has fled past me.

“Just you.” I promise because it is always just him.

And he knows or he would not smile so tenderly and then kiss me so sweetly as though I were a precious piece of porcelain that deserves the utmost care. 

Ten years ago you couldn’t have told me that the darkest period in my life would end in light and that the light would come in the form of this exquisite man.

What a journey.

I curl close into safe arms now that the wind has picked up and I’m nowhere near close to decently dressed for the cooler air. When he feels me shiver against his frame, he withdraws only long enough to shrug off his heavy suit coat and drape it across my shoulders. “Can’t we ask Gladio to tell the story?” I’m ready to melt into my bed and never move again. Well, at least not for this evening.

Ignis wraps me in a firm hug that makes all of my muscles align and sigh in relief before he lessens the pressure and I almost collapse. Thank goodness for his reflexes. “Come now. We shall go and tell him his bedtime tale and then,” His voice drops to a seductive purr and my belly clenches in sweet anticipation of what he’s going to bribe me with. “I’ll take you into our room… get you a can of Ebony… and read to you.”

I groan in desire and slowly open my eyes and gaze behind me into those smug, gorgeous eyes of his. He got me. “Fine. Deal…” Putting my hand to his shoulder as he turns to pull us inside, I make a final amendment to the agreement. “My poem book?” It’s pure romance of written word and with his gorgeous lilt wrapped in a perfect baritone surrounding the syllables, the book is absolute heaven.

Ignis merely grins that impish little tilt of his lips and nods. “Of course my Darling. Come…” He rarely ever says no to me, at least not in matters such as these. If it comes to any element regarding my protection he is worse than a King of Lucis protecting the crystal.

Smiling, I let him pull me into his arms and tilt my chin up for a warm kiss that he always seems to have ready and waiting. “I love you Ignis…”

Reaching up, he strokes my cheek with a tender brush of his knuckles to my skin and this time when he kisses me, it lingers until I’m breathless against him. “I love you my Darling… more than the Light herself.” And just like that I’m leaving the peacefulness of the stolen moment of solitude and waltzing back into the beautiful frey that is my life, hand in hand with a man that continues to steal my heart each and every day. 

I wouldn’t have it any other way…

Merciful Astral’s thank you for your sacrifices so that we may remake Eos beneath the guide of your teachings once more. Please continue to guide me on this journey… I know it isn’t over yet.

In fact the journey has only just begun.

**********************

Hope you liked the introduction to the characters. I played around with the story but tried to make it fit. Thanks for reading.


	3. Brothers in Arms (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How the guys came back together in the Darkness... because I can't handle that mess of them not working together when Noct isn't there!

(Year 2 of the Darkness, One month after moving into the Orphanage)

Once upon a time there were four of them traveling the roads of Eos in the Regalia, living from one moment until the next came around for them. Duty pushed them from the comfort of their home in Insomnia, but fellowship kept them together throughout the journey. And then one life was lost… 

More followed…

And then he was gone. 

Suddenly their simple path was distorted into a treacherous terrain. Loss weighed them down until there was nothing left to lose but each other. And then they did…

The point in which three men’s lives turned around had left them to wallow in the hopelessness his absence brought.

The eldest, the protector, felt his emotional armor crack from the strain of carrying the burden of his lost King. He carried the guilt that came with abandoning his comrade that was hurt in more ways than one.

The leader, who guided them all on the right path, lost his way. The darkness had come for him in more ways than one but he could not withstand the losses dealt upon his shoulders. So he drifted away, pushed away those who cared and learned to trust in himself the way he always had over time and practice. He had needed help, but refused it so that he could prove to those who would dare feel sorry for him, that he wasn’t an invalid. Unfortunately, once you were alone, it was hard to undo that which brought you to such solitude.

The youngest tried to hide his suffering but he was one who wore his heart on his sleeve, and there was no hiding something that had been broken. His friend was gone for an unknown period of time and the other men he had come to depend on for their friendship turned him out on his own. Yet, he still loved them as the brothers he never had.

For two years the three who had once set out on their campaign to save the world, drifted apart and left the ruin of their former friendship to the past.

Prompto had always held out hope that Ignis and Gladio would return to him so that they could band together and take on this next phase of Eos’ history that would one day be told to the generations that came after them. A crisis in Lestallum and a house full of children who had found salvation in the safe haven pulled the three men back together. Had it not been for the heaviness of guilt and anger, it would have felt like old times for the young blond.

Gladio hadn’t been able to keep his eyes off of Ignis while he drove the Regalia down the very familiar path toward Hammerhead. They had spent three weeks living at the orphanage when they had been called out on a mission by Cindy. There were a few rogue beasts that were too big for her group to handle and not only were they tearing up a lot of the nearby properties.

“Like old times… huh Iggy? Heading out to Cindy’s…” The blind man had barely said a word the entire ride, not that he had ever been particularly vocal, but there also hadn’t been two years of silence between them either.

“Indeed it is.” They were the first words Ignis had offered the entire ride, not because he didn’t want to talk with the men traveling with him, but because he wasn’t sure where to start. He had acted a fool all of those years ago, and pride was a horrible little monster that could keep you in a perpetual state of fear to have something tarnish it. Truth be told he felt rather guilty.

Prompto was quietly watching as Gladiolus failed to rope their former leader into speaking more than a few syllables. This was their chance to bond again! “So…” He began with a soft chuckle, “Those sisters offered to have us move in before we left. It’s been nice having a place to call home.”

“YEah it has. I mean I love camping but its been good to have a bed and a home cooked meal. Not that it's like yours Iggy.” Alright, so the larger soldier was trying a bit too hard, but he did mean it when he said no one cooked like the blind man. Though Meryda did a damn fine job of it.

Ignis allowed himself to smile at the praise, remembering back to the many meals he had cooked for the four of them. Four… “Sooner or later they will want us to go. It is best none of us get attached. We have a duty to protect the inhabitants of our star while our King is completing his mission.”

The moment Gladiolus stopped the car, Ignis climbed out of the passenger seat and strode into Hammerhead after giving a short greeting to Cindy. The blond woman watched Ignis retreat into the building with concern. He wasn’t the same man she had once known. “Well who sat in his puddin?” She murmured to the boys before offering them each a hug. “I really do appreciate you boys coming up. Glad to see you back together too.”

Gladio rubbed the back of his neck in nervousness. “Not sure we are Cindy.” He wanted them to be but he couldn’t read Ignis anymore and his silence was anything but calm. There was a lot brewing in the other man that Gladio didn’t know how to approach much less deal with. It had always been Ignis to get them all to see reason and now he was going to have to find a way. 

Prompto let the others head inside so that he could have a moment to himself beneath the dark sky. He wasn’t sure if his friend could hear him, but when he was alone, which was all the time, and needed a little bit of hope, he would speak to Noctis. “Hey Buddy… don’t know where you are or what you’re doing… but it’d be great if you could get through to Ignis. I know you wouldn’t have wanted us split up. Its not the same without you of course…” Dark blue searched the heavens, praying for a sign, but none came. “But it’s not the same without them either.” He finished with a shaky sigh. 

He continued to look, watching above for any sign from those who may be looking down on Eos, but he wasn’t able to discern anything in the darkness hanging overhead. “If you could just put in a good word with Iggy… that’d be great. I’d love to stay at the orphanage and have us all back together again.” Gladiolus would surely tease him for being such a big baby, crying over being lonely, but he didn’t care. 

He wanted his friends back.

When he was calm enough to go inside without anyone noticing how red his eyes were, Prompto headed inside and sat down with the other three to discuss the events to come.

Cindy got Prompto his usual before she returned to the map spread out across the countertop that Gladio was describing to Ignis who wasn’t having difficulty remembering the lay of the land. The young mechanic felt good seeing these three back in her shop after almost two years of seeing them on their own. “Glad to see you boys back here. I know I said it before but you sure are a sight for sore eyes.” 

Prompto slurped his milk shake down, gaining glares from the other three. Smiling weakly he chuckled in nervousness and asked, “So… what is the task Cindy?” 

“Well, we have a herd of Anaks that mosied on down this way…”

“Anaks? They aren’t from this region.” Ignis hadn’t spent too much time away from Lestallum in the past year, but he had heard of herd problems and the migration of various beasts into unfamiliar territory.

“I know. But with all the daemons and issues with ‘em, the patterns for the herds have become all messed up.” 

Gladio tracked the path from the typical Anak grounds down to where they were on the map. It was quite a distance. “Well, we have run across random little herds of Garuless around Lestallum. It’s not too shocking that Anaks are here.” 

“No. But it has presented some problems. They’ve been rather aggressive and territorial. One part of the herd isn’t causing any problems, but we’ve got a stag out there that keeps riling everyone up. He’s getting into the farms around here and tearing up equipment. We’ve lost power on some of the generators and we can’t have that because they’re running our greenhouses and u.v. lamps.”

“So you would like us to handle the stag and leave the rest of the herd alone.” Ignis summed up the issue quickly and concisely. The hunt wouldn’t be very difficult, however they would have to separate the stag from the rest of the herd and down him quickly. “Where is he usually found?”

Cindy settled down another glass for Ignis, scotch on the rocks, and pointed to the map for the others. “They’re by Longwythe Peak toward the road where the lights are. The stag hangs out in three valleys, right in the middle. We spot lights up there running cuz the kids like to sneak out that way. He’s broke all but one of them. We’ve tried to get him a couple times, but it just aint working out.” 

Gladiolus polished off his beer and slid back behind the counter to pour himself another. Cindy waived him off when he made to give her some sort of payment. “Come on now sugar. You know I’m not about to have you pay me when you came all the way out here for this.”

“Thanks Cindy.” The former Shield blushed slightly but that could have been due to the alcohol too.

“Well, I s’pose you boys have been in that car all day. Would you like to get settled and you can go hunt him in the morning?”

“Cindy… would it be possible to get some supper for when we get back?” It was nearing 10pm, but riding in a car all day didn’t make any of the three men tired. What they needed was to get up and get moving.

Prompto sighed in defeat, but Gladio smiled and patted his friend on the back. “Good ol’ Iggy. Always knows the cure for a long car ride.”

Cindy chuckled. “Takka has some chili cooking. I’ll make sure to grab you guys some bowls.”

“Thank you Cindy. It is much appreciated.” Ignis almost leaned into the gesture Gladio had offered, but stopped himself. He was still trying to find a way to cross the divide between them all and he hadn’t figured everything out in his mind. Getting comfortable wasn’t a possibility just yet. How was he supposed to undo all that he had done?

Gladiolus withdrew when Ignis shrugged him off and watched the other man gather his coat at the door. “Anaks are weak to lightning. Gladio you’ll need to use your sword to finish him if I cannot make the attack with my pole arm. Prompto I want you on top, get him to the center where the spot lights are so we do not have to worry about daemons while we are out.”

“Sure thing.” Prompto had made sure to grab his rifle just in case which was out in the trunk. Checking his light to ensure it was working properly, he put his cap on to help him blend in. “I’ll get to scouting.” He polished off his milkshake and then was gone.

Gladio’s features were lit up in a fond smile of remembrance. “I hope that kid never changes.” He had missed the both of them and the two years apart had been a foolish mistake. After the anger wore off all that was left was pride but he was ready to toss that aside too. What was pride if you didn’t have anything to be proud of?

“Indeed.” The barest hint of a smile crossed Ignis’ lips but before he could lose himself to the moment, he sobered and turned to Cindy. “We should return in an hour or two.” 

“That sounds good then. I’ll make sure to toss a few steaks on the grill. Ya’ll’ll need your energy after this.” With that Cindy turned toward her kitchen and got busy on thawing her steaks for when they would return. 

Ignis was at the car by the time Gladio made his way outside, situating his earpiece and checking in with Prompto by the time the other man arrived to gather his things. “Prompto says he has a satisfactory location chosen and he has eyes on the animal. How do you want to approach this?”

Was now the time for him to say that he wanted them all to move into the Orphanage? Or should it wait? Ignis’ posture didn’t exactly steer him toward a positive direction for their future as a unit, however he knew how to handle the man. Or he had at least. “I can round him up, make sure he stays where you want him. If I can get him downed, you can finish him. Just come up behind me and I’ll get you up to make the final strike.” It was a common move they were used to making together, and shouldn’t be hard with a lone Stag to hunt. What they needed to worry about were the daemons that would come.

“Before you left, Cindy said we can take the meat with us. I think it’ll be good to get to the girls… it’ll feed the kids for a while.” The sisters had provided a safe, warm environment in a short amount of time for the drifters that the three of them were. Sometimes he thought Noct was looking down on them all. “I think Noct would like ‘em.”

“Noct is gone. It would be better if you came to terms with that Gladio. And those women aren’t going to have use for us forever. We aren’t destined to stay there. Now let’s go.” Ignis’ tone was colder than he had meant for it to be, but he hadn’t allowed himself the hope that he would find comfort in this phase of his life.

He had failed his King, protected him only to offer him up on a silver platter to the Astrals who preferred to sacrifice a symbol that could have brought Eos together, and a brother to three men who had fought hard to ensure the safety of the world. The world they, the Six, had sworn to protect. 

Ignis couldn’t hide his ire, or his absolute rage for how he felt toward the Gods who played with mortal lives from afar, whining that they weren’t revered, when they did nothing to earn such devotion. He was furious just thinking of it.

Gladio let Ignis go because he knew he wouldn’t be able to reach him right now. “It’s ok Gladdy.” He heard Prompto whisper through their channel in reassurance that he too had heard the words, and like his former companion, he did not believe them to be true. 

“Thanks Kid.” Gladio switched his channel over so that the three of them could communicate and set off on foot in the opposite direction the dark haired blond had departed in.

It took about half an hour to find the best position. At the fork in the road he had headed to the right while Ignis took the left. They converged down the paths from their respective locations that led to the center of the three valleys. Prompto was straigth ahead of him on an outcropping and thanks to the unbroken spotlight , the daemons weren’t out and about. “Iggy… he’s to my right. In the other path.” 

“Very good. Once Prompto gets him to the center, I’ll get his attention and you set to strike.”

“Got it.”

Prompto prepared to follow through when Ignis gave the signal. He was flat against the rocks, melding into them so that his gun just looked like another piece of the outcropping instead of a separate entity. One shot behind, and then others sporadically shot around the beast, he needed it to head in Igni’s direction. Five shots should get him completely set up so that the creature headed in Ignis’ direction instead of Gladio’s. “Ready when you are.”

“Go ahead.” Ignis gave the all clear and prepared himself for the irate beast that would be heading his way. The rumble of the ground and the sound of a gunshot was his first inclination that the interlude had begun.

Prompto got off every shot, just where he had been aiming, and at the end of his fifth, the Anak veered away from the gunshot and straight toward Ignis. “He’s coming at you Iggy.”

“Very good.” He was up, scaling the rock structure when he was sure the animal had his sights set on him but before the creature could reach his position, Gladiolus came charging.

With brute strength he lashed out at the legs, trying to fell the beast in quick, rapid slashes. Jumping back and out of the way when the Anak swerved to attack with his neck, the body of the creature shifted in his direction but Iggy was fast to counter attack.

“Want me to get a shot.” Prompto asked, watching everything through the eye of his scope.

“Only if its clean.” Ignis wanted to make sure that they had a clean kill so that they could harvest the meat to return with. When the animal reared up to stomp at Gladiolus, Ignis made his move with his pole arm and knocked the creature off of its back legs. “Now Gladio!”

“Hold it kid!” Ignis threw flipped out of the way in the direction Gladio headed and pulled out a lightning orb. Smashing it over his polearm, he mounted the massive sword waiting for him and felt the metal slide out from under him as he catapulted into the air. The crackle of the electricity charged through the air and as he came down on the animal’s neck, a direct hit was made.

Prompto fired off a shot to finish the animal so it wouldn’t suffer once Ignis was clear and stood up to climb down the side of the rock formation. “Nice job guys!”

“Just like old times.” Ignis let it slip out before he could stop the thought from manifesting. Motioning to the beast, he changed the subject quickly. “I’m sure if we send it to Takka he will butcher it. We can offer him a significant section for his work.”

Gladiolus was in full agreement. “Sounds good to me. We can rest up tomorrow before we head to Lestallum. I’m thinking we drive overnight. We can get in in the afternoon and just have down time with the kids.”

“Sounds good to me. I promised Nexus that I would take him out to get pictures of the city.” Prompto had taken a shine to the kids rather easily, but one of the twins, Nexus, took up a lot of his time and energy. It felt good to impart his hobby onto someone new.

“What do you think Iggy? Have another cookoff with Meryda.” Gladio teased the other man, aware that he was vastly annoyed with the matriarch of the house. Though if Gladio didn’t know any better he would say Ignis liked her. 

“And show her how to actually work a kitchen? Yes, I do believe that can be arranged.” Stop Ignis…

He was getting too comfortable. Like a light switch, the man flipped from on to off as his demeanor shifted to something heavy and overwhelming to those around him. “Not that it matters. We won’t be there much longer.” Those women didn’t want them. How could they when they were each other's family and had no use for Lucian soldiers.

“Iggy… I think you’re wrong about it. I don’t think they would have offered if…”

“Get the truck Gladio.” Ignis cut Prompto’s hopeful ramblings off with a sharp tone and then turned to go. “I’ll check the other lighs to see if I am able to repair them. Just honk when you are ready to go.” Between the two, they would be able to load the animal and he could hopefully solve another issue plaguing the area.

Prompto swallowed down his upset and turned to look at Gladio who didn’t appear very pleased either. “He’ll come around.”

The dark haired soldier had always wondered how Prompto stayed so positive in light of all the negative that should’ve drowned him. His eyes were a little sad as they shifted downward toward the ground as the mood turned sour. “I hope so, Prompto. I really do.” Without another word he departed to get the truck from Cindy, leaving the other two on their own.

When Gladio returned it was with Takka, who helped butcher the beast into pieces that would be easy to load. After an hour of work, Ignis had another two spot lights up and running, and the animal was ready to go. “Let’s get going boys.” Takka called out for the others to return to the truck.

The drive back was silent, save for the loudness of thoughts that were bouncing off the interior of the large truck, Takka was driving. No one said anything because this wasn’t the place, but also because what was there to say? “I got that chili all ready for ya boys.” Takka informed them, completely oblivious to the tension going on around him.

“That is very much appreciated Takka, thank you.” Ignis was able to come out of his thoughts long enough to give a response and once it was done, he went right back into the fray. His first year as a blind man had not been a kind one to him. He had allowed himself to wallow in far too much self pity but after a dream with his King, ordering him to get off of his ‘ass’ as he had so eloquently put it, Ignis had forced himself into action.

He took on hunts on his own without backup despite his handicap and had learned to battle even better than before. Something was missing though and he knew he couldn’t get it back.

He missed the individual’s he had grown impossibly close to during their trials to get Noctis married to Luna but all of that time felt untouchable. How could they ever have that again? Or even a semblance of it? The truth was, they could not. They would never have that time together again, and Ignis was furious about it.

When Takka pulled back up to Hammerhead, he departed to get his men to take care of the felled beast while the three soldiers headed back into the pit stop where their chili was waiting for them.

Cindy didn’t say a word when the three men walked back in. None of them looked hurt, but there was a heavy air about them that didn’t lend way for having a friendly chat. Dishing out their meals and a new round of drinks Cindy told them to enjoy and that she wanted to give the Regalia a once over before hitting the hay.

The men ate in silence, sitting at the small table furthest from the massive windows, that had been set up for travelers now that Hammerhead was more than just a station for cars. It was also a small restaurant and lodging for travellers. “Sure am glad Cid and Cindy got this place back up.” Gladio mused to the others. They had enjoyed some good moments in Hammerhead. 

Prompto had a fond smile on his face. “Yeah. Makes it feel like old times.” His voice drifted away as the silence came back to steal the happiness from the moment. He couldn’t even look at Ignis.

Because the former Crownsguard was anything but calm, or happy. In fact he couldn’t take this charade any longer. Settling his bowl down with a hard thud, the dark blond stood up to his full height and imposed his negativity on the others. “But it will never be Prompto. It is best you come to terms with that now. That you both do. We are destined to wait for our King and fight. What is there to be happy about?” He waited for an answer but when none came, he offered his own.

“Nothing. We are stuck in this hell without our King, guidance, or a time table. All of our friends are gone.” The final word was said with such finality that Gladiolus actually flinched like Ignis had reached out to strike him across the face. “The sooner you stop trying to live in the past that is never coming back, the better.” With that he retrieved his dirty dish, took it behind the counter to rinse, and then started back toward his room.

“You’re wrong Ignis.” Prompto’s voice called through the darkness, angry and determined in a way the younger man rarely showed. “We have each other. But you’re being too stupid to see it.” The blond had never spoken out of turn with the elder tactician, ever. But it had been a long few years and he couldn’t believe that Ignis was still acting like this.

He had given him space and time to come to terms with his fate but to be told that they were all alone even when the three of them were here, was too much to take. Wiping at his eyes, he stood and cleared his place setting as well. Walking past a stunned Ignis, he whispered, “You’re just scared to lose more. But what you don’t realize is that you’re not protecting yourself. You just keep hurting yourself more. I never pegged you for a coward Iggy. The Iggy I know isn’t one.” His breath trembled, his body shaking under the stress of his words, but he said them anyway. Without looking back, Prompto made his way down the silent hallway and went into his room.

Alone, in the darkness, he crawled into bed and cried.


	4. Brothers in Arms (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last part of brother's in arms.

Gladiolus didn’t say a word, though he had heard everything, because there wasn’t much to say that Prompto didn’t already take care of. Once his dishes were cleaned he too retired to his room, leaving in his wake a very stunned Ignis out on his own. He could have said plenty, but Prompto’s words had hit home, rendering what he would say useless.

Stricken with shock, the blind soldier listened as his two companions departed, leaving him alone with his thoughts and the very stern talking to he had just received from Prompto. Truth be told he had never had anyone speak to him in such a manner, and he had certainly never anticipated the younger blond with a tender heart to be so vicious.

Perhaps that was why it was sticking so soundly in his ears, replaying itself over and over until he couldn’t come up with a reason as to why he was acting the way he was. Until the truth of the matter became the exact words his former comrade had used. He was afraid…

Afraid to find purpose? Afraid to lose what he still had? But what did he still have that he hadn’t pushed away? Prompto was right, he was alone and he had caused that, not the darkness or some freakish event. He had. 

Ignis made his way solemnly to his room, and slid into bed once he was unclothed. In his bag he had a set of clothes for the ride back and the usual toiletries required for an overnight but there was one other thing. Two years ago when he had asked to be left on his own, Prompto left with him a photo when they had been four and mostly happy. Yes, they had been going through hardships and facing down an army, but they had still laughed together and made the best out of a terrible situation.

He could not see the picture anymore, but he knew it by heart. They had been at a festival and Prompto had insisted on taking a picture. At the blond’s behest, they had all bought chocobo shirts but the vendors didn’t have a size large enough for Gladio so they had cut off the arms so he would fit. He had worn a black tank beneath it otherwise the other would have shown off his stomach making it appear like he was wearing a tub top of sorts. By the end of the day even Gladio had begun to laugh at the entire debacle and it was then Prompto had asked for his picture.

They had shared a wonderful day, full of food and freedom from responsibility. Ignis hadn’t even forced vegetables on Noctis and took the time to enjoy a variety of sweets he would normally shy away from. 

Iggy… come on Iggy… fall asleep…

His lids were already closed, his fingers tight around the photo that had become worn beneath his insistent fingers, and then he was somewhere else. Somewhere familiar…

Iggy…

Noct?

Yeah its me. 

Where are you?

In your dreams… literally. Stop making me wait and get out here already.

It was like changing locations in rapid succession. One moment he was suspended, weightlessly in the darkness, and in the next, there was a fire and two camp chairs. One was occupied and the other was vacant, waiting for him.

Glancing around to get his bearings, Ignis turned skyward and took in the beautiful sight of starlight streaked across the heavens. “A dream?” He murmured, knowing that he technically couldn’t see and even if he could the sky no longer looked like this.

“I told you it was.” The man in the other chair gained shape and when he finally came into focus, there before the scarred man was his King. 

“Noct?”

“Told you that too Iggy. Keep up.” He chuckled, dressed in the same garb that he had gone into the crystal with. For once Noctis didn’t look ready to fall asleep but actually looked surprisingly alert. And serious.

Noctis motioned for his advisor to take a seat and when he did, he turned toward the man much like he used to do with him. “What are you doing Iggy…”

“I suppose you are here to tell me I’m being ridiculous.” Ignis sighed, not really liking that he was being scolded, especially by Noctis.

The dark haired man’s eyes lit up, “Uh yeah duh! Like I’m going to miss this opportunity?” Get real. Noctis had waited years for a single solitary reason to give the know it all a chat and he was finally getting it! There was no way he’d waste it. “Seriously though Iggy. What are you doing? Why are you so scared?” He was gentle with the usage of the word referring to his fear, but it was out in the open between them regardless.

“I don’t know Noct.” Maybe it was because he had tried to control his life, and everyone’s around him to the point of perfection and it hadn’t saved him from any of this. Or maybe he was just lost in his despair and couldn’t get out of its grip?

“What do you want Iggy… besides having us back. What do you want.” Noctis knew there was more he was running from but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out why.

What did he want? He knew what he could possibly find should his mind be taken away from his duties and that just freaked him out. Since he was small, his entire world had revolved around Noctis and now it didn’t have that constant to follow anymore. He was lost… and angry. “I don’t know what to do Noct. I’m supposed to follow you and now you aren’t here.” He crossed his hands in front of him and leaned his head against them. 

“No I’m not Iggy. I’m not here. And I need you to do the leading now, just like you’ve always done.” Ignis might have followed his King, but he had always led them down the path they were on or needed to follow.

“I’m not sure I know how.” It was unpleasant to hear the words coming out of his mouth, but they were honest. 

“Now I don’t believe that.” Noctis settled back in his chair, enjoying the sensation of the firelight against his skin while he watched his oldest friend. “You’ve got Gladio and Prompto. Hell Promtpo called you a coward! They aren’t boys you have to coddle. They’ve grown and they’re ready. Are you ready Ignis?”

The dark blond laughed lowly, the irony not lost on him. “How fitting that it would be you to give me a lecture on duty and purpose.” But then, would he have listened to someone else? Probably not. “What else then Highness?” He needed to hear it all no matter how unpleasant.

Noctis grinned a little wickedly before he turned serious. Together they discussed Ignis’ fears and concerns in taking this next step in his life. There was the orphanage, the guidance the six adults could all offer each other and the children. Those children were the future, and it was one that Ignis could have a hand in shaping. That challenge alone would draw him back to Lestallum to plant roots. 

There was the case of not knowing his duty, but the King reassured Ignis that while his path was no longer clear, the general direction was still there. “Take this time for you Ignis. Fight for those who cannot, but start to live… take care of yourself. Your King is ordering you to.” 

Ignis let his gaze drift toward Noct’s bright blue eyes and eventually nodded his acceptance of the order. “It’ll take time.”

“I think you’ll find your way sooner than you think.” In fact, the King was sure of it.

The night grew longer, while the fire began to dull and soon a flare of crimson streaked through the sky just along the horizon. Ignis and Noctis both turned to look and knew that their time was almost up. “It was good to see you Iggy. We’ll have to do it again.”

Ignis forced his breathing to slow so that emotion wouldn’t overwhelm him and met his King’s sad gaze. “I am looking forward to it Noct.” They stood in unison and held their hands out to shake. 

Noctis’ other hand came up to cup the top of his in a time worn gesture. “I need you to walk tall Iggy. Time to get off your ass… again.” They both laughed even as the light bloomed and slowly they each began to fade away from their campsite.

Tell Prompto… That I’m proud of him for calling you out. And Iggy… I’m still not eating my veggies.

Ignis slammed into the waking world with a start, the final words of his dream ringing through his ears and all he could do was laugh. A good, long, loud, raucous laugh that healed the parts of him he had neglected for too long. When the sound died down, determination colored his movements as he climbed out of bed and dressed for the day. He retrieved his photo and stepped out to see the two men who were worriedly looking at him from their spot at the table that would officially be known as theirs.

Prompto was ready for the fight of his life so when Ignis sauntered up to his seat and moved to sit, the blond jerked up from his position and sucked in a lung full of air. “Ignis…” He began furiously, his brows dipped down in mustered fury. “I didn’t finish with you last night.”

“I’m sure not. But what you said was enough. You were right Prompto. I have been acting like a coward.” 

“Yeah well… let me tell youuuu.. What?” The gunslinger shook slighty to try to clear his head, wondering if he had really just heard what he heard. “I’m sorry… I don’t think I heard you right.”

Gladio’s fork clattered down onto his plate, the admission of cowardice from Ignis of all people was a shock to his system. He had made his way to the area in order to back Prompto up who had been in his room pacing and panicking for the past few hours. “Yeah… i’ll need you to repeat that too. And maybe write it down and sign it so I have it for posterity.”

Ignis knew he deserved that. A weak smile covered his lips to show that he was accepting the jab to his pride. Laying the photo of the four of them at the chocobo festival for Gladio and Prompto to see, he gave them a long moment to recount the memory before he began to speak. “I should not have sent you away Gladio.”

“I shouldn’t have left you.” The larger man choked back his guilt, but his comrade could still hear it. 

Ignis merely shook his head. “You have no need to feel guilty. I needed that time. But Prompto is right. I do have you two. And I was wrong about the Orphanage. It frightens me that we may get attached to them only to lose them too. But I do not think Noct would want us to waste these years, however long they may be. I’m ready to turn the next page of this journey and I want to do it with you both.” 

Both men sighed in relief that this discussion hadn’t been a knock down, drag out fight. Gladio maintained a firm hold on his self control, but Prompto didn’t fare so well. When the younger man began to cry, Ignis held his arms out and actually accepted to hug the blond until he quieted. Before he released him he whispered, “Oh and Noctis says he is proud of you that you said what you did to me last night.”

Prompto’s arms tightened, and then ever so quietly he asked, “You see him too?”

“Yes.” It was extremely hard to accept the visits when they came, which were thankfully not too frequently, however, he was always grateful when they did happen.

Gladio let the other two have their moment and gathered the picture that Ignis had put on the table. That had been a fun festival that he spent with his friends instead of chasing skirts and though he had complained about his shirt, it had been worth it. Seeing Ignis in a chocobo hat and a ridiculous white cotton shirt with the chocobo theme song written across his back had been worth any torture he went through. “So the orphanage…”

Prompto sat back down in his seat and nodded, “I think we should give it a go. The kids are awesome and the sisters are great.” He made sure not to say how much he liked Meryda’s cooking lest he upset Ignis. He still couldn’t believe that everything had gone so smoothly. Thanks Noct.

Ignis accepted the statement and stated as much. “I’m in agreement. Though I’m not sure how long I’ll be allowed to stay. Surely that woman will tire of me taking over her kitchen.” 

“Leave Meryda alone Iggy. She’s cool.” Gladio didn’t think she would need him to fight her battles with Ignis though considering she was a warrior herself. Part of him couldn’t wait to see the two deul for dominance. He was certain that Meryda was going to give his pompous friend a run for his money.

The conversation dropped when Cindy made her way out to the table to inform them that the Regalia would be finished that night along with the meat. For the first time in over two years, the three men spent time together playing cards and enjoying one another’s company. This time was nothing like the past, and Ignis knew that it could not be since they were missing one of them, however, it had been fun.

Before they left, Cindy gave them all hugs goodbye while Takka finished packing the trunk with the wrapped meat that had been freezing for a good couple of hours. Ice packs were also loaded up to make sure that the meat would stay cold should it thaw. “Ya’ll let me know when you’re headed back this way.” Cindy patted the Regalia before stepping back and waving at the three who thanked her again and then pulled back out onto the open road.

It was a long drive, but far more pleasant than the one that had gotten them there. This time they talked, and shared stories but more than that, they continued to prove Ignis’ fears wrong. No, the future wouldn’t resemble what he had lost, but maybe, just maybe it would be better?

“We’re all scared Iggy.” Prompto was sound asleep in the backseat, leaving the mother and father of their smaller group alone to talk.

Ignis turned toward his friend and smiled. “I think we would be fools if we were not.”

“We’re good though?” There was a note of worry in Gladio’s deep voice.

“We are. We will get through all of this. As a team.”

“A team.” Gladio smirked, liking the sound of it very much. 

***

The Regalia made its way up the long drive to the Orphanage and once parked, the three men clambered out into the fresh air of Lestallum. “Good to be home.” Prompto yawned, stretching his body out of the interesting predicament it had been put through sleeping in the backseat. How Noct had always slept in that car he would never know.

“Home.” Gladio and Ignis agreed at the same time as the sound of happy voices carried across the courtyard and then they were bombarded by small bodies and welcome back hugs from the three sisters. 

Ignis patted Meryda’s back, her arms warm and full of comfort, for the moment at least. They hadn’t started arguing yet. That would change as soon as they got into the kitchen for supper. They just couldn’t seem to get along. They would if she would just listen to him…

“Welcome back.” She told him quietly, slightly on edge from not knowing if this was for good or not. Meryda didn’t do well with uncertainties. The three of them had left without an answer to the question and the children had been driving them all insane with questions of what was going to happen when the soldiers returned. Of course the three sisters hadn’t been able to give an answer, so they dealt with constant questions.

Ignis dispelled everyone’s worries with his appreciation at being welcomed back. “It’s good to be home.”

Because the three soldiers from Lucis were home. They would live in this orphanage with these women and children and together they would persevere through whatever obstacles came their way. 

This was the newest mission for the Lucis men for the foreseeable future, and Ignis would not fail his King.

****************

I know its a little slow to start but there's more about their lives and relationships to come!


	5. He likes Me Not...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of the end for Ignis. Someone snares his attention and he isn't willing to let her go...

(Darkness Year 2 almost Year 3)

It was well past midnight but the sounds from beyond the house kept her awake and far too alert for sleep to come. A storm had rolled in throughout the day and as evening moved in on the afternoon with low angry rumbles heralding its arrival, the light show started. All of the children loved to watch the storms, talking of Ramuh and playing Gods throughout the house. All of the children save for Fleur. 

Meryda was almost beside herself whenever a storm happened, even though she knew her baby was safe and that there were more adults looking out for her now. The men who had moved in close to 7 months ago after finding her daughter stranded for days, had settled right into their routine with the house like they were made to be part of the team.

Meryda got along with all of them… save one…

**

The roads had been sectioned off as the soldiers of Lucis traipsed up and down the empty streets, backtracking the path taken by the orphanage children but they hadn’t found any sign of the little girl who was missing. When the men reconvened, they stood in the park square checking the angles once more. 

“I checked all of the open buildings, but there was no sign of her.” Gladiolus had a hold of the picture of the little one they had been searching for for well over 10 hours, and felt his heart clench. He hated when children were caught up in senseless acts and though the woman who had been tending to the kids didn’t mean to lose one, he could understand the mother’s rage.

Prompto’s blue eyes turned sad as he too had come up empty. “I checked the ally’s and the bins, but there was no sign either.” The Orphanage was at the other end of the town, tucked back behind large gates with a sprawling yard that left it rather isolated so much so that the children surely felt as though they lived in their own little town. The young girl, who had massive blue eyes framed by incredible amounts of black curls, would never have found her way home. She was only four and a half.

Ignis knew they had missed something, there was a piece of the puzzle that either didn’t fit or had been lost. “We have missed something… “ They had to of, otherwise they would have found a body. 

“She couldn’t have gotten in the locked buildings…” Prompto started but quickly fell to silence. “Wait… what if she did?”

“In a locked building?” Gladiolus asked, glancing around the square to see those buildings that had been boarded and locked. Eyes widening as the reality of the moment sunk in. “Of course…”

“She’d have found a way in.” Ignis conferred, whipping around toward one of the buildings that would have drawn a young girl’s eye. On the corner of the road was a large gas station, the windows filled with goodies. Prompto had described all of the buildings and when he had mentioned that particular station, that was still filled with a number of supplies, it had stuck in his mind.

The family that owned it had been killed by looters before the city had been taken back under control and everything was put back to rights. As respect for the couple that had been lost to senseless actions, the building had stayed untouched, save for to be cleaned and restored to it’s glory and then it was boarded up and kept as a reminder for what chaos could bring. A child wouldn’t know or understand why such a shrine had been erected, the child would only see the treats and goodies in the window and want to get at them.

“Call the mother.” Gladio told Prompto before rushing after Ignis who had already reached the large brick building and was looking for a small nook or cranny that would have allowed a small body.

Gladiolus set to looking with his comrade, and was relieved when Ignis called out that he had found it. “She’s in there, has to be.” Ignis rounded to the front, and took the bolt cutters Gladiolus had been carrying in his pack. Snapping off the lock, he quietly released the door and then carefully stepped inside.

“Fleur… come out little darling…” His voice was smooth and calm, one used to dealing with frightened individual’s. Closing the door so that the outside noise wouldn’t interfere in his search, he listened quietly and then he heard it. A slight rustling in the back behind the counter where the register was. Flicking on his light so that the girl wouldn’t be alarmed if she saw him, he spoke up a little clearer, but ensured that the even tone was still in use. “Your mummy has been quite worried my darling. She has been looking for you for days. You must be so scared little one. Would it be all right if I came to see you?”

He knew where she was for certain, having heard her little fingers drum against the top of the counter when she moved to get a good look at him. He was almost sure she had nodded, but he wanted to be sure. “You’ll have to answer me darling girl. I am unable to see you. I’ll need some help to get over to you.”

Fleur had indeed looked up when the man with the accent found her hiding place since the storms had moved in. She wasn’t sure how long she had been gone, but she had been absolutely terrified. People had passed by the windows but she never called out because none of them looked like her aunts or mother. This man was saying her mother had sent him… and she was inclined to believe him.

He seemed nice, and looked kind. At almost five years old she was very good at reading people. The man was tall, but not overly imposing, and had a pleasant smile that she wanted to reach up and touch. He looked strong enough to carry her and several other children at the same time! Glancing up at his face she could see the scars that were almost hidden by his glasses and when she realized that he could not see and it wasn’t a fib, she quietly walked out and took the man’s hand in her small one.

Ignis dropped slowly to his knees so as not to frighten the small girl and smiled in relief when she moved to hug him, a stranger. Little fingertips were bold against his features, tracing and searching each of the markings on his face almost as though she wasn’t sure if they were real. When she removed his glasses, he said nothing and then he felt a tiny kiss pressed to his bad eye. “It’ll be ok…”

“Ignis.” He told her quietly, touched by how thoughtful this little angel was. “Are you cold? I brought you a blanket.” Pulling the fluffy fabric out of the back of his pack, he wrapped it around the little one and scooped her up.

“Thank you Ig-ginius. Iggunus… Ig…” Her mouth just didn’t want to form around his name.

“Call me Iggy. My good friends call me Iggy. I would think we are friends now, don’t you?” He wanted to keep the conversation light and the girl distracted from the fact that she was no longer alone. Her focus was on him and that was the most important thing right now. The poor girl would undoubtedly be in a state of shock once she finally saw her family again.

“Yes Iggy.” Fleur curled down into the man’s strong arms, and felt her body lose the tension that had been keeping it going. She was tired, and now that everything was over, she missed her mom and was scared. “Am I gonna be ok Iggy?”

Ignis curled the small bundle tighter and nodded. “Of course you are darling girl. Can you give that door, a little knock please?” His boot tip had hit the glass as he had been in a rush to get out of the building until he realized he was rushing. Fleur tapped softly on the glass and it was immediately drawn open by Gladiolus.

Bright copper eyes softened the moment they observed that Ignis was not alone. “Hey… There you are.” He coo’d as though he knew the little one for longer than a few seconds. The girl smiled at him and that’s when he heard the shout.

“Fleur!” The mother was in the middle of the road with Prompto holding her back and away, until Ignis gave the nod to release her. The moment she was free, she was at a dead run to get to the girl. 

Ignis gently set her down and Fleur went running. Meryda stumbled and fell to her knees, scraping them on the rough asphalt but it didn’t stop her from lunging forward onto to fall again, this time with her daughter wrapped tightly against her. Meryda could scarcely breathe, all she could do was hold on for dear life as her fear took hold of her heart and almost stopped it dead. She wanted to look over Fleur and ensure everything was alright, but she couldn’t pull the little one away long enough to do so.

Maery quickly passed a very worried Prompto and made her way to her sister so that she could take the little one and give the eldest Strigan a moment to gather herself. “It’s ok Mery… I’ve got her.” Maery took hold of Fleur who immediately clung to her and then she stepped away. The blond hadn’t slept in nearly 48 hours and she was going to crash at any point.

“Hey…” Gladio crouched down beside the mother of the girl in an attempt to help calm her, but she wasn’t looking anywhere near him. Her bright blue eyes were lost in her fear, her hands clenched just as tight as her jaw was, and her breathing terribly labored in an attempt to not have an outburst. “It’s ok…”

This time her gaze did snap at him and he had wished he never said anything at all. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

Meryda stayed sitting in the street, her knees stinging, full of broken rubble and bloody tattered skin. She wanted the pain to anchor her to the moment and as punishment for her child having gone missing. “I wasn’t there.” She whispered so quietly Gladiolus barely caught her words.

Ignis and Prompto both moved in toward the woman to block her from view so that she could have her own moment. A few individual’s from the household had made their way down and were getting Fleur situated in one of the cars that had been parked in the empty road. When Gladio didn’t fare well, Ignis stepped forward and helped Meryda stand, even if she didn’t want to, before he led her off a safe distance so she would not be overheard should she not want to be.

The moment Meryda was back behind the building her daughter had come out of, she let out a howl of despair that pierced straight through Ignis. It was a sound of devastation and immense pain that reverberated through him, shaking apart his stoic nature and pushing him to action. With two firm hands, Ignis turned Meryda to face him and drew her tight against his body in a tight hug.

“She’s ok.” Meryda hadn’t stopped murmuring the beautiful words though they would not settle into her mind just yet. What she could feel was the pain of her bloody knees and one palm, and the squeezing grip surrounding her. The air she forced in and out of her chest was labored, but she was slowly calming down as her sobs eased to light hiccups, but her hands remained like a cats claws in Ignis’ coat. 

“She’s ok.” Ignis whispered into the woman’s hair. He remained with her in his arms until she was strong enough to return to her daughter’s side. Ignis couldn’t have planned that these two people he had just met would become some of the most important in his life.

“Iggy…” Fleur whispered to the man from her mother’s lap who was just beside her. 

“Yes my girl?”

“Would you stay?”

Meryda jumped slightly but when she met her daughter’s worried gaze, she turned toward Ignis and quietly asked, “Yes. Would you stay please.” If her daughter needed him, then she would do any and everything to make sure she felt safe. This man had saved her child when she hadnt been able and she owed him a great deal for that kindness.

Sealing his fate, Ignis held his hand out for the little girl to hold and nodded. “I shall. To ensure you are all right.” He promised, though he never could have imagined that this first night at the orphanage would not be his last. In fact it was the first of many…

***

Seven months ago, Ignis had found her baby girl and in that time he and his comrades had moved in only to become part of the family. They lived, laughed, ate a lot, and enjoyed one another’s company for the most part. Gladiolus fell right into the family dynamic like he was a long lost brother. Prompto had taken a litte while longer to settle only due to his own concerns at not being good enough for the household and his friends. Time would settle that worry, or so Meryda hoped, though she was working on his self esteem along with Maery and they had already noticed improvements.

Ignis on the other hand was a whole other story. He was a snob, know it all, obnoxious man who thought his way was the right way. Trouble was, it often did work out in his favor much to Meryda’s disdain. In the beginning, Meryda had been content to deal with his high handedness because it was a distraction for other emotions he elicited in her that were not very becoming of a widow who hadn’t even spent two years in mourning.

Overtime they got comfortable with one another, they laughed, and sometimes they were close enough to share a fear or two and then help the other to dry tears. It had happened once with Ignis on the day of Noctis’ birthday. She had found him alone in the courtyard in front of the fire pit with a very uncharacteric drink in his hand. The man had been off all day though no one approached him except for her. They had not spoken at length, only enough to convey his sadness and then there was the silence.

Silence and two individual’s who were tense friends at best, though the respect they held for the other was mutually grand. He drove her crazy, but even she wasn’t so naive as to think it was as shallow as all of that. Especially when Maery had picked up on the fact that the two spent a lot of time together, finding little instances to share one another’s company when it could be avoided. Either way, it was for naught. Miva had an interest in Ignis, and Meryda had no doubt in her mind that the youngest sister would be a better match for the soldier.

Miva was tall, thin and built like a delicate thing with proper features and a certain grace that came from another lineage other than the Strigan line. Maery and Meryda were both fit, though a little less now that the darkness had settled in and there was more time to eat, and strong in build. They had the same, round face with bright blue eyes, though Meryda wore her hair short in the back and angled forward in the front with a dark burnt gold tone, while Maery’s locks were darker in hue, like milk chocolate worn to her shoulders. Long enough to style or throw back into a ponytail. 

In her time as a Priestess to the Oracle, she had been dressed, primped and pressed to look regal, but she had always felt it was nothing more than a costume. Here at the Orphanage, dressed in her leggings and tunics she felt more at ease, or whenever she was in jeans or leather working pants that were used out in the field. She had never felt very pretty, and next to Ignis, well, he needed to have someone just as handsome as he was.

Right?

Why was she thinking about this again!? He drove her crazy and vice versa. They were so incompatible the whole notion of them possibly getting together was ridiculous. Sighing, Meryda stood up from her bed for the fifteenth time that night and slid out of the room to traipse up the stairs onto the second floor. Her daughter had just moved into the larger room with three other girls at the start of the month and had been doing very well with the change, but when storms rolled in, her mother didn’t fair very well.

Quiet as a mouse she moved down the hall and was just reaching for the handle when it pulled open and a broad chest impaired her vision to see in the door. “You’re going to wake her.” Ignis chided, slipping from the room to close the door so that the determined gaze of the girl’s mother couldn’t see in. “She’s fine. The girls are all asleep in the tent.” 

Prompto and Gladiolus had been down in the afternoon as the storm was starting to make itself known to set up one of their old camping tents in the massive master bedroom the four girls shared. Fleur had wanted to do something special and her mother had readily agreed. No one had been surprised that Meryda gave into her daughter, not that she had requested anything overly outrageous, still, it was the middle of the week and usually they left ‘fun’ for the weekends so as not to upset the routine of the house.

“You sure she’s…” Meryda wanted to launch herself past Ignis and rush into her child’s bedroom, but she would only frighten the girls if she did that. Taking a deep breath and allowing Ignis to take her by the elbow, she walked as calmly as she could down the hallway, to the staircase and down into the kitchen where she promptly lost her composure.

Ignis trailed his hand up Meryda’s shuddering back until his hand reached the top of her shoulder. With gentle insistence he pulled her to a standing position and turned her against his chest. “She’s home. She’s safe.” He had spoken these words for many weeks after the incident when Meryda would wake in a petrified state only to realize that her nightmares found her again and they had felt all too real.

Another woman, he would not have given so much attention to, not that they hadn’t tried. Shortly after he arrived the youngest Strigan sister had set her sights on him for some sort of conquest, but Ignis had been far from interested. Unfortunately his politeness hadn’t helped him any, in that she was still quite determined to snare his attention. Miva was an attractive female from what he had gathered feeling her push up against him the many times she had, with a seductively sweet voice that would convince any sane man to fall at her feet.

Ignis was made of stronger stuff to fall for any of those feminine tactics, and honestly the game she was trying to win annoyed him past any point of even thinking to return her interest. The truth was Ignis didn’t have time for a woman.

Then why does Meryda feel so good in your arms?

A question he had been asking himself for the past month after Noctis’ birthday when she had been so kind as to just sit with him while he drank his tumbler of whiskey in the silence. For once no one had tried to make him feel better, or ask frivilous questions that they didn’t really care about, Meryda had simply sat beside him and let him emote in a variety of ways. Through it all she did not judge him, nor had she mentioned it to throw it in his face during one of their famous kitchen spats.

That day his appreciation for her had changed, though if he weren’t lying to himself it was long before that. As a man who was loyal to his King and his Cause, he had allowed himself to keep the lie that this woman was a mere nuisance who he didn’t have the time to devote to. And then months passed and he could no longer lie to himself when Gladiolus and Prompto both realized that he had been doing any and everything to be around her, especially when he wasn’t required to be.

Now, here he was, with her gloriously warm, soft body fitted to his own, quietly attempting not to cry though she was failing. Tears often annoyed him because once women started to weep, they did not stop. Meryda Strigan was not one of those women. While emotional she was, yes, she never let anything hold her down. Ignis had come to learn that where as he hardly showed his own upsets or fears in such a spectacular display, Meryda did and it was endearing once he realized just how strong this mother of one really was.

Boisterous and loud when the necessity called for it, she was not a woman who went unheard and spoke up for those who could not speak up for themselves. In the seven months he had lived at the orphanage he had witnessed her incredible determination in many instances and each time she came out on top. This woman had slipped right under his emotional armor and made room for herself where he had been sure no room existed. Was it in his heart? His mind?

Ignis wasn’t sure, but he did know that she plagued his thoughts and his dreams at night when he had gone too many days without her presence. They had been tiptoeing this line for four weeks and he for one was getting tired of it. When Meryda withdrew from his touch, he let her go though was surprised at the abrupt shift in her demeanor and distance. “I’m ok.” He heard her whisper though it was hardly convincing.

“It is normal to be upset…”

“Ignis. I have been terrified for over seven months. I’m not doing her any good by staying so worked up.” Why couldn’t she jump this hurdle? Her daughter had been returned to her, safe and sound, but for some reason it bothered her more than the loss of her husband and home. 

“It was a very close call Meryda. The what if’s that are left over and the guilt we carry that a situation as awful as this happened at all, is not a kind visitor that stays.” Naturally she would feel guilty and plot and plan every single move she made from here on out where her child was concerned, and she had. Ignis did not fault her that, or any of her sentiments on the matter. He did wish that he could help her cope with it all though. “If there is anything I can do…” 

There was a slight note of defeat in the soldier’s tone, and it was that slight show of helplessness that helped Meryda calm down. Bracing herself against the countertop, Ignis behind her at a respectable distance, she took several deep breaths and turned when the hysterics were over. “Thank you Ignis. That means a lot.” More than it should… he’s better with your sister girl…

Which if that was true, then why did he have to feel so good when he held her? This man was trouble in the finest sense of the word! Startled when she felt a soft silk handkerchief against her cheeks, she turned to gaze up into the scarred features of the man tending to her in such a gentlemanly man. “Ever the gentleman.” She teased, her eyelids fluttering closed as his almost caress helped her settle even more than before. “It’s not often I’m tended to after crying.” She didn’t want to push him away, but her pride pushed her to do so. Mostly for the fact that if he didn’t stop she would get used to such pampering and then wouldn’t know how to function when he moved on.

“You certainly could be more often if you would allow it.” The scent of her shampoo was richer today which meant she had showered earlier. He wanted to press his nose to the top of her thick locks and inhale deeply. After working with her in such close proximity and now that his sense of smell was far sharper than before he was blind, he had learned that she smelled of sylleblossoms and spice. It was a rather interesting combination, but there was a warmer, softer scent that was Meryda’s natural odor and it linked the two mismatched aromas. 

Meryda smiled and withdrew from Ignis but not to return to her room where her bed would not welcome her, instead she began to gather ingredients so that she could bake. “Are you going to go to bed?” Why did she ask that? Wincing, Meryda hoped Ignis would just ignore such a stupid question.

He didn’t.

The taller man settled himself on a barstool at the other kitchen counter where they usually served the food from, and shook his head. Dressed in his grey sweats and a new white thermal long sleeved shirt he had claimed for his own in the latest box of clothes to come in, his hair was down and the visor he often wore to hide his scars had been left in his room. “I was thinking to keep you company. I admit that I too was a little worried earlier for Fleur.”

“Which was why you were in her room.” Meryda smiled softly, catching sight of Ignis from the corner of her eye where she noted that his cheeks were a light pink color.

“Precisely.” There was no point in denying it when it was obvious he too was still shaken by the incident. “I am not fond of nights such as these. Probably too many nights camping in a wet tent with three other bodies.” Most of his memories with the three other men from Lucis had been enjoyable, however, those stormy tent nights were far from it.

Once her ingredients and machines were gathered, Meryda began to work on the various steps in an order she had long ago memorized for her cake that was for no reason in particular. “I can imagine. Miva used to be scared of storms when she was young. She would sneak into my room, which wouldn’t have been so bad but somehow every time we shared a bed she managed to push me out of it and I slept on the floor.” Meryda chuckled softly at times long past, where in those moments she had been furious, but now they were funny reminders of youth. Setting her mixer to medium, she let the whites beat while she worked on the other liquid base of her cake.

Ignis wanted to ask more, such as her fears and if she had ever had someone to turn to, which was terribly unlike him. A fear was a weakness and should be dealt with quickly and efficiently, and yet when he thought of Meryda he couldn’t help himself. He wanted to know the things that frightened her, and he wanted to know if anyone had ever tried to take care of this woman who was an island unto herself. Much like himself, she went unnoticed unless she was gravely ill or badly wounded, and something about the way she carried herself through it, with an inner strength a lot of woman and men didn’t carry anymore, called out to him. 

If you walk this path Ignis Scientia you had better be sure. A pep talk that usually got him steered back onto the right path that he had given himself numerous times over the years, but tonight it was leading him in a different direction. Or was it? Hadn’t he already been pointed toward Meryda for a while now?

What a foolish question. He knew he had.

****

To be continued...


	6. He Likes Me....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ignis makes his move

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DO NOT OWN DO NOT PROFIT!

**Flashback**

Crackling firelight, the open road, and a large tent in the middle of nowhere set the scene for the three travelers who had a hunt to conduct now that the herds were going to be moving in preparation for winter. They were still a few months off, but most of the large beasts that weren’t acclimated to the climate on the plains for winter months moved south. Since the darkness the weather and animal territories had changed drastically.

“This is good Iggy… been a while since we’ve had fish.” A nice fillet, marinated and cooked in oil with herbs and spices infused in the oil. For the rice he had tossed lemon juice into the water to brighten up the flavor and cut through the oil.

“Yeah I wonder why? We are by a fishing spot in Lestallum.” Prompto reminded them all with his mouth full as he shovelled his meal in. With so many kids, it was hard to eat like this every night, and Prompto had missed Ignis’ specialties.

Ignis shrugged. “Probably because the children aren’t fond of it and it would require a significant amount to feed the house. Or because Meryda can’t cook fish.” He smirked just this side of smugly.

Gladiolus rolled his eyes. “You can’t cook everything either you know.” He reminded his friend whose head snapped so quickly in his direction, Gladio was surprised the man didn’t get whiplash. “Stop being mean about her. She’s a good cook.”

“Yeah.” Prompto added before muttering, “And you like her so stop trying to act like you don’t.” The blond got picked on quite a bit from the other men for being clumsy and not an adept fighter, but he could read a situation like nobody’s business.

Ignis was so caught off guard by the blond’s off handed comment that he dropped his bite down onto his lap before it bounced to the ground. Looking in the general direction of the wasted food, he scowled at it as though he were deeply offended. “What are you talking about? She and I both cannot stand one another. She is always in the kitchen…”

“And so are you.” Prompto stated nonchalantly as he licked his spoon clean.

Ignis’ voice tightened. “She won’t listen to reason…”

Which in Ignis speak meant she didn’t bow down and appease him. “Neither do you when it happens.” Prompto settled his plate onto the ground and sat back in his chair to enjoy the bottle of white wine Gladio had packed.

“She is constantly checking my meals…”

“You always check hers.”

“She…” What else? There was more… there had to be!

What about the meals she actually cooked? No, they had good flavor and she used a large amount of vegetables most of the time. In fact, ‘cheat’ meals were allowed on weekend’s only.

What about the humming and dancing in the kitchen…

Actually her voice was rather soothing and he enjoyed dancing… not that they had ever…

No! This was insanity. Of course she was obnoxious with her ability to get the children to behave, or handle the other adults of the house with such ease that he didn’t have to strain himself to do so...

Gladiolus bit his bottom lip in an attempt not to laugh as realization dawned on Ignis’ face, his scowl growing with each passing minute. “No…” He muttered in complete disbelief. If someone were to look at their group they would have thought Ignis just received news that his family pet had died. Not that anyone could have fathomed Ignis having a family pet with how specific he liked his surroundings.

Amused, the larger of the three looked over at their brave youngest member and jumped in to help him. “You guys are always in each other’s way instead of just coming up with a schedule to avoid the other.” His voice was quiet, but it could be heard.

Ignis didn’t much appreciate it. If his eyes still worked, his glare would have lit Gladio’s hair on fire. “I do not believe your opinion was asked for… nor was yours.” He bit out toward Prompto who continued to enjoy his beer. “The last thing I need is a distraction…”

“Ha!” Gladiolus almost lost his grip on his beer bottle but regained his hold and stared wide eyed at his friend’s naivity. “You more than need a distraction. Getting laid for once would do you some good.” Noctis and Prompto hadn’t cared about Ignis’ personal life or lack there of, but for Gladio it had been so unnatural. To go around without some sort of companionship for years at a time? And what was more, Iggy was young! He had barely begun to get his feet wet when it came to sex.

“How crass. I do not appreciate you referring to Meryda in such a manner.” His posture was rigid in his offense. “I do not need to get laid…” His voice was softer almost as if he didn’t believe the words himself.

“So you have thought about it! I knew it!” The dark haired soldier jumped up, latched onto his chair and pulled it close beside Ignis. “Come on… It’s a good thing.”

“How is this a good thing Gladio? We were supposed to fight on until he returns… we don’t know when that will be. I cannot afford to hurt someone and get their hopes up.” Which was a lie, if he really decided he wanted Meryda then he wouldn’t back down until she was his in each and every way. He was not the type of man to do things half heartedly and he didn’t see that changing anytime soon.

Even Prompto threw a glare of disbelief at Ignis for such a ridiculous statement. “Come on Iggy. We know he isn’t coming back for a while. And you like her… Noct wouldn’t want you to ignore it. Hell, he’d probably be thrilled.” The others thought that that Noctis and himself didn’t pay any attention to the other men but they did. Gladiolus didn’t have any problems separating himself from his duties to chase a woman for some attention, or to help his family, but Ignis was the exact opposite. He dedicated all of his time and effort to a Prince and country that couldn’t always afford the luxury of acknowledging all he did for them. “We’d all be thrilled. You need someone to take care of you sometimes too.”

The men grew silent with such a declaration and Ignis couldn’t help but ask, “Would she take care of me?” Though he knew the answer.

Yes, she would. She had that tenderness in her that a nurturing individual couldn’t fight off even when they tried. Her temper wasn’t always the longest, but she cared with her whole heart and most of the time when she was frustrated it was because things were not going her way so that they could be best for the entire home. In many ways, she reminded him of himself in that she came second while everyone else was first. “Was I that obvious?” He had been fighting his attraction for a good month now and it hadn’t been working.

Gladiolus and Prompto exchanged a glance but kept their words to themselves. Ignis hadn’t realized how fully Meryda had captivated him from the very start, even when they got into their spats over the running of the kitchen. But he was aware of it now. Sighing in resigned acceptance, he took the bottle of beer Gladio held out to him and popped the lid off. “Who would have thought… I would possibly find a woman.”

“It’s not that surprising. Noctis isn’t around.” gladio chuckled, though it was a hollow sound. Over two long years had passed, and they all missed him horribly. “I think he’d like her.”

“Yeah. She gets Iggy riled up. He’d love her.” Prompto teased with a goofy grin on his face. In all of the time he had known Ignis, the man had never really gotten upset to the level Meryda could push him to. After one particularly fascinating display, Meryda had stormed off, and Ignis had let out the smallest of frustrated squeals. Coming from someone as pulled together as the dagger wielder, it had been quite the shock. Now it was a cherished memory to know that Ignis was just as human as the rest of them.

“I’m not entirely certain where to go from here.” Admitting defeat was not a habit he had ever fallen into, but he could say that he was at a loss when it came to courting a woman.

Gladiolus put his hand on Ignis’ shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. “You’ll find your way Iggy. You always do. Just remember… make her feel like she’s the only woman in the world.”

‘That won’t be hard.’ Ignis thought…

Afterall, in all of his years surrounded by women vying for his attention, it was her voice that finally caught his ear throughout all of the noise.

******** **End Flashback**

“What are you making?” Notes of citrus hit his senses, mingling with the telltale scents of flour and sugar that was a staple for any dessert. “It smells very good.”

“Oh… are you complimenting me? I may have to ask you to write that down and sign it so I can show people next time you give me a hard time.” Meryda felt a lot of the tension she had been carrying while she worked and then even more so when she was able to tease the handsome man keeping her company. “And I’m making a chiffon cake… In my house we had to learn how to make light desserts since we ate heavy meals. A house full of big burly warriors and all…” Cousins, uncles, aunts, and all manner of family were always coming in and out of the estate so large quantities of food was always a reality.

“I didn’t grow up in a large household…” He murmured with a touch of sadness on his features. However, the sound of a chiffon cake perked him up considerably. It was one of his favorite treats, though after seven months living with a baker he had found several other delicacies that had disappeared in the dark of night and reappeared on his stomach.

“No? Well, I didn’t really grow up in my house, I was always with Luna or in classes. Mother had us take everything.” And she wasn’t exaggerating either. Meryda checked her meringue and when she was satisfied with the stiffness, she gently scraped it into her batter and began to fold everything together.

Ignis had moved over toward the countertop where the appointed baker of the home continued her work. Savoring the aroma in the air, he inhaled deeply, catching all of the scents now that they were melded together. There was something slightly off though. “What type of citrus did you use?” Before he requested about her childhood. “What types of lessons did your mother put you three in?”

“Grapefruit.” Meryda liked it better than orange juice because while it was sweet, there was a nice tart bite to it that helped cut through the heaviness of the meal beforehand. Dipping a clean spoon into the batter when Ignis began to complain about her change, she slid the tip past his lips so that he had his mouth busy tasting instead of fussing. “She had us take tactics training, sword fighting, dagger fighting, various shooting classes,” Her specialty was with using a sniper rifle and swords. “We even took mechanic classes, how to drive various machines, of course all of the basics, reading, writing, mathematics, ettiquette.” Which she had loathed, though no more than Maery did. Miva was of course the best student when her sisters were a bit more clunky and required significant practice.

Ignis listened quietly, still rather pleased by the taste of the chiffon batter he had been unceremoniously given moments before. “And how long were you in the employ of Lady Lunafreya?” He knew that she had been part of the Lady’s entourage but he didn’t know much more than that.

Meryda finished putting the creamy light colored batter into the oversized cupcake tins, which were perfect for serving to the children, and slid the pants into the over for the first batch to cook. She had three others to go. “I was six. She was seven. And when the other girls turned six they were added on. We were hardly at home after that, just on the weekends.” Which was only long enough to sleep, wash clothes, and go back to the routine.

Settling at the counter top to wait for the buzzer, she was pleased when Ignis settled back down, beside her this time, to keep her company. “And you all grew up with Noctis.”

“Gladiolus and I did. Prompto met him later.” Ignis corrected the slight error gently, but with a fond smile of rememberence on his lips. “Those were different days.”

“That they were.” Meryda remembered them fondly and often when she couldn’t quite grasp what she was working on for the future when she didn’t even know what it entailed anymore. That was why she put significant energy into the children. “Thanks for talking to me.”

Without thinking Ignis reached out and took hold of Meryda’s hand in his own. They were smaller than his, slightly calloused in various places that were used to gripping weapons, and others that came from hard work that women often didn’t have to entertain. He enjoyed that she wasn’t frail or overly delicate in her physical body, though the rest of her was tender and warm. She portrayed a certain level of strength, but he had seen her at her worst and was amazed how she picked herself back up. “It has been my pleasure. I am only sorry that you had to go through that at all.”

She felt the tears coming for her again, but refused to let them out into the moment. She had spent too many days and nights crying over the event and her child needed her to be strong, not stuck in a situation that ended on a happy note. “I’m sorry she had to go through that. I shouldn’t have been out.”

“Meryda… you left her in the care of others.” She had blamed herself from day one, which he would have also truth be told, but she really had done everything perfectly. When the irritation spiked from Meryda, he gripped her hand that much tighter and stopped her words by interrupting what she was saying. “You did everything right Meryda. If you keep blaming yourself you will never move on. No one is asking you to forget, but you do have to forgive yourself for a situation that was never really in your hands.” Even mother’s needed time away or had other duties and when those situations arose, then the mother made sure her child was cared for. Meryda had done all of those things, and something went wrong…

It was an unfortunate part of life.

Another deep breath, inhale and exhale, the tears were forced down as Ignis had given her a speech she would have given to anyone else who had been in her position. Glancing up, wanting to smile at him, the gesture fell short when she realized he could not read her features, and then she ducked away.

“You can smile.” Normally she wasn’t shy about his blindness, but he had noticed that she was a bit more bashful as of late around him. Most of the time she pulled away if they touched for too long, but tonight she was letting him hold her hand, and that propelled him to be bold. Slowly so that she would see him coming, he trailed the tip of his index finger across her plump lips, feeling them stretch and shift gracefully. “You do not do it quite enough.”

“Nor do you.” Meryda teased, reciprocating the touch Ignis had dealt to her face by giving her own. Though her fingertips did not stay at his mouth, instead they swept upwards to trace the edges of the burn marks gracing his handsome features.

“Forgive me… I should have put on my glasses.” He stuttered slightly, not having been used to someone touching him in such a manner, and certainly not prepared for how nice it felt. He felt no judgement from her, though he never had, and if anything it felt like she could see every little corner of his uncertainty and was accepting it through the touch she delivered to his skin.

“You don’t have to apologize for that ever. These are part of you. If they upset someone then that is their problem, not yours.” And if someone was foolish enough to insult or even remotely look disgusted in her presence she wouldn’t hold back from giving that individual a piece of her mind.

Ignis’ grin grew in response to her vigorous sense of protection and felt honored by being claimed by it. “I usually do not pay more people any mind, but occasionally it is difficult to accept the stares and whispers.” He had stayed silent on the matter with everyone else because if Prompto knew the boy would smother him until he said he felt better, and Gladio would turn the whole town against them. If Meryda did anything to right any wrongs, it would be done with much more finesse.

“Well you shouldn’t… they aren’t important. Therefore they don’t deserve your energy. You’re a handsome man Ignis… and a kind man.” Meryda hadn’t realized she had stood over the settled man, his dark blond hair was down which made him appear far closer to his age than his usual look allowed for. The lines on his face were from stress if not induced by some sort of attack, and there were a few little beauty marks dabbed haphazardly over his features that made her want to reach out and trace the invisible path between them.

Everywhere she touched, his flesh tingled and against his will, he felt his good eye slide closed to enjoy the petal soft caress across his face. He should stop this, he knew he should and it would be easy to get up and walk away but Prompto had been right. He did like this woman… enough to have wondered what she would feel like in his arms.

Would she fight him for the passion that could come, or would she submit in his arms and follow his lead…

One moment the two were lost in a trance and the next, Ignis was up on his feet so that he was facing downward while Meryda had to gaze up into his face and then he was on her.

It was a slow movement, but felt like forever until at long last his lips brushed hers in nothing but a whisper of flesh to flesh. A small current of air graced his features and when he solidified his hold of her mouth, he brought his large palm up to cup her cheek and hold her close. She was warm and rich in flavor, but what pleased him most wasn’t at all what he had been anticipating from this woman.

She did not fight against him for more, nor did she submit and expect him to maintain control of pleasing her, instead, she met him as an equal. The moment she produced the sweetest little sigh, he knew he was lost to her call.

Contentment weaved through every fiber of Meryda’s being in a way she had never felt. Warm arms were wrapped around her and the hand against her face was there to cherish her, not out of duty to offer closeness. It had been so long since she had been kissed and even though it did not delve past the soft embrace of her lips enmeshed with his, it did more for her than she wanted to admit.

“Hey… I got up to check on the babies and could smell something cooking… you guys ...okkkkkk…” Prompto stared wide eyed at the two individual’s acting like they had been caught with their hands in the cookie jar as Meryda all but jumped away from Ignis, and said man shot a heated glare in his direction. Blind or not, that man still give a look. That didn’t stop Prompto from celebrating. “YES!” He shouted, jumping in triumph.

Meryda pulled away rather quickly from Ignis who was willing to let her go due to his own shock of having the perfect moment interrupted. “Prompto… I… was baking cake.”

“Which involved your lips on Ignis’?”

Ignis turned his glare up a notch toward the blond for such a crude joke. “Prompto, that’s not very becoming.”

“Sorry Iggy… It’s just… you guys are so good together… and it’s about time.” No one had ever accused Prompto for being able to read a situation and they certainly wouldn’t start now as he blabbered on about the potential of a house romance.

Meryda on the other hand was startled by what he said and found it rather difficult to respond to such a loaded statement. “It just happened… and he would be far better with someone other than me. Miva’s far prettier.”

“Miva is a chore. She’s a nice woman, but she’s a chore.” Ignis sneered, which was very uncharacteristic for him. He had endured the other woman’s flirting and attempts to get his attention for a few months now, but he had no interest. “And as far as pretty goes, we all know she is ‘pretty’. She’s no you…” Again, Ignis was rarely so forward with someone not in his close group of friends, or family as they had become, but he could not stand when Meryda put herself down. She did it on occasion, though there were plenty of women who did it for her and it had always driven him mad.

Meryda was beet red at the compliment and so lost when she turned her gaze toward Ignis’ face that she didn’t even notice the massive pair of blue eyes, twinkling in their chibi-like state, still staring at them. “Ignis… that’s so nice…” And embarrassing, in a good way. It made her feel like a girl again.

“It’s true. You tell me I should not be ashamed of my scars… well then I certainly don’t think you should be ashamed that you aren’t everyone else’s standard of beauty. You are beautiful Meryda and if some people do not see that, then they should not matter.”

Prompto had sunk down behind a counter as he watched the events unfold in front of him and nearly squealed in joy. “Amazing.” He whispered to himself, his eyes so wide they nearly swallowed his face.

The beep of the oven startled the two who had moved toward one another without realising it apart, and ended the mood completely. It was also in the following minutes of changing a set of pans for the next that Ignis and Meryda both remembered that Prompto was with them and their little dream was effectively broken.

It wasn’t until the early morning, sleep still evasive for the widowed mother trying to battle her bed into letting her sleep, that she stood up and traipsed downstairs where the man who would not give her mind a reprieve, was. Said man was also wide awake and no where near sleep either.

“Meryda?” Ignis called out, having caught the scent of warm cake in his doorway that had latched onto her clothes. Sitting up on his bed, he motioned her in and felt his body relax at her proximity.

Silence claimed their time together once more, as Meryda didn’t really know how to bring any of this up. She supposed it would be best to just be direct. “You really think I’m beautiful?” No… that wasn’t what she had wanted to say. She was supposed to handle this effectively and tell him that there was no way they could possibly attempt for anything other than their hostile friendship. Right?

“I do.” Two little words that spoke for so many others that could have been used, but they were enough for this moment. Ignis knew if he started something with Meryda that it would not be easy sailing. They were both stubborn and thought that life would be much smoother if everyone just listened to them. This would be the single moment to let it drift away into the wind, but the way she sat beside him, her presence small and so painfully unsure, wouldn’t let him take this away from either of them. “I was never interested in your sister. Ever. And I shall inform her tomorrow that I intend to court you, should you desire it.”

Yes! Yes she desired it! It hadn’t been fun for her to watch Miva flirt endlessly with Ignis or try to garner his attention through her little games when she had felt her own interest grow over the months. Still, she had been certain Miva would have been more his type, and still was in some ways, but Ignis was not a man who lied nor did he flatter carelessly. He was polite, just, and incredibly intelligent, however he lacked certain mannerisms that would easily win over certain people. That was to say, Ignis’ social skills were a bit amiss when it came to tender words and wooing. Though she had to admit he was doing a good job of it right now.

“I don’t know how to do this…”

“Nor I.”

“I don’t even know if it’s right.”

Ignis didn’t respond because his logical mind told him the same worry Meryda’s was shouting at her which had been voiced out loud. Something else in him was saying that this was perfection. “Let’s start slow… appropriately.” Whatever that meant.

“Very slowly.” Meryda requested the courtesy of that much considering she was still reeling from having convinced herself, poorly, that she mostly disliked this man, to kissing him in the kitchen. They weren’t children playing boyfriend and girlfriend, they were adults with responsibilities, and some of hers were not over.

“Slowly.” He agreed to appease her and not give Prompto anymore ammunition to tease him with.

By morning the whole house would know about the kiss anyway…

And they did.

*************

Hope everyone's enjoying so far... this one is very slow starting! Sorry about that. I'll probably start to post some fun chapters and less serious stuff soon. If there are questions let me know... I wrote this as a big hodge podge of thoughts.


	7. Information

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ramblings!

I have several chapters lined out but felt that it would be best separated into little stories amongst the series. Here I will post mostly ramblings or bits of information you would like answered.

The First six chapters introduced you to the sisters, how Ignis, Prompto and Gladiolus came back together (Cuz I can't handle that mess of not going through the darkness with one another!) and A look into Ignis getting together with Meryda.

If you have appreciated this so far I appreciate it. Feel free to leave questions and comments... In fact they are appreciated!

Thanks everyone!


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